My COVID Diary, Day 0–1: It Really Wasn't Acid Reflux

Discomfort level: ★★☆☆☆ (39°C fever + sore throat + nonstop runny nose + sneezing)

Brain-fog level: ★☆☆☆☆

Vaccine brands: AAM

Why is there a Day 0?

Because at first I did not think this was COVID XD. Looking back, though, the signs had already appeared the day before.

Sunday, June 12, happened to be the first in-person lesson for my second-year senior-high physics class in ages. I was still teaching at the branch campus.

The students all asked, “Why have the other two teachers already gone back to the main campus while you are still at the branch?”

I remember answering, in a very self-mocking way, “Because I got flushed out, I guess.” Looking back now, thank goodness I did not return to the main campus for Sunday’s class. Otherwise I might have become the cram school’s ultimate public enemy XDDD.

I had practically no symptoms during the morning lesson. I finished class happily and sent the students away safe and sound. There were still a few mishaps along the way, but everything went smoothly overall.

That afternoon, I thought I might as well have a huge dinner. I wanted to bring home some amazing Thai food from Lishan Street. Going home early would mean no air conditioning and roasting alive, so I bought lunch, went back to the cram school, converted video files, and started studying negotiable instruments law.

Since I was the only person in the entire branch and had brought my laptop, naturally I filled the place with music. Studying was incredibly boring, so I also filled the place with my singing.

Once I got tired of studying, I decided to put my head down for a bit. One class normally would not make me especially tired, so why was I exhausted that day?

I did not think much of it. I just slept hard.

When I woke up, a sudden burning pain hit my throat, accompanied now and then by a feeling almost like bringing up stomach acid.

“Huh? Do I have acid reflux?”

At that point I had no headache, fever, sneezing, runny nose, or anything else. The first reasonable suspicion was that acid reflux was causing the burning in my throat.

Looking back, I really was far too innocent.

I had never had acid-reflux problems in my life, after all. Orz.

I kept pouring ice-cold Magu Jinxuan tea over my burning throat, which helped a tiny bit. After finishing my negotiable instruments reading, I packed my bag and headed to the Thai restaurant to order dinner.

What I had not expected was how packed the restaurant would be. I placed my order quickly, and they told me, “It will take an hour! Do you want to find somewhere to wait?”

Oh? More than an hour? Perfect. I happily went to what used to be the Butterfly bookstore and is now Lishan Books, then reviewed two volumes of Attack on Titan before the anime was scheduled to end later that year.

I still felt no other physical discomfort during any of this. The burning in my throat and the repeated acid sensation simply made me think this bout of reflux was especially intense.

I still did not feel particularly unwell that evening, but my throat hurt unbearably. With time to spare, I skimmed the material for an upcoming study-group session. I did not really do much else before going to sleep.

Around midnight, the chills became very obvious. But when I pulled up the thin blanket, I became unbearably hot, so I kept struggling over whether to cover myself or not.

The burning in my throat also kept getting worse. I felt as though I might have a fever—but maybe not—and had no idea what to do, so I asked Google.

“What should I do when stomach acid burns my throat?”

The first article I found suggested taking small sips of a cold or warm drink. Okay! You could have said so earlier!

I marched to the refrigerator, dumped ice cubes into a cup, and started crunching them at three in the morning. I deliberately pushed them toward the back of my throat, thinking that might help.

Did it get better?

I have no idea, because I fell asleep afterward.

When I woke up, the burning in my throat had not improved at all; it was worse. I felt extremely hot, and my temperature had reached 37.9°C. That seemed ominous, so I tested myself immediately.

Huh? Negative? How? Was I being punished with an ordinary cold merely because I wanted air conditioning?

To be safe, because I had met with two teachers on Friday and knew a false negative was possible, I told them that I had symptoms but had tested negative. Once the messages were sent, I collapsed into bed and slept.

Later, a furious barrage of LINE messages arrived, along with a picture.

“You should test again!” Oh, damn. My friend had tested positive.

“You probably did not insert the swab deeply enough. Your symptoms are already so obvious that, even if you do not get two lines today, sooner or later they will be yours,” said one of my lawyer friends.

Since I had only swabbed my nose at eleven that morning, though, I decided to give it a little time and test again in the afternoon.

Between morning and afternoon, my fever hovered around 38°C and my nose kept running, although the throat pain eased somewhat. I instinctively thought I could still read a little, but I was too weak to sit at my desk, so I moved both my books and computer onto the bed.

I did not expect the fever to keep worsening. The chills became severe, and after only a few pages my mind drifted so badly that I started scrolling through nonsense videos. Eventually, I fell completely asleep.

When I tested again that afternoon, I decided the swab was going all the way in this time. I twisted it furiously so I would not waste another test. So—did I have COVID?

Well, congratulations! The answer was absolutely yes.

Whether it was psychological or not, my fever finally reached 40°C, about the same as after my first AZ shot. Then came nonstop runny nose and nonstop sneezing—roughly the feeling of a severe cold.

Compared with my first AZ vaccination, the symptoms were actually much milder. After that first AZ shot, my muscles were so weak that I spent twelve hours crawling around the floor like I was wiping it.

I quickly handled the cram-school work, told the students that classes would move online, and posted notices in the LINE group and on Instagram.

Should I post a COVID status update on the website too? What a brilliant idea! People could get a rough personal reference for what each day after infection looked like after my particular vaccine combination.

That was how this article was born. I sat back down at the computer, started writing code, and published it.

Overall, I did not feel as awful as I had imagined and was still able to work. The nonstop runny nose was the truly annoying part. As long as I could still write code without too much trouble, I considered myself in pretty good shape XDD. My temperature did keep spiking, though. In addition to the cold medicine I had taken, I thought I might need a fever reducer later.

I had some medicine at home and family members who could look after me, so please do not worry!

So when exactly was I infected? Honestly, I do not know.

As for the brain fog... I could still write code properly. It was not complicated JavaScript, but at least—at least simple HTML and CSS were still fine!

Looks like I would have to miss the next two weeks of drawing classes QQ. Fortunately, make-up classes were available, and the school even called to check on me. That was so heartwarming QQQQQ—I nearly cried.

All right, that is enough of an update for now. It was about time for me to take my medicine and rest!