I Signed Up to Get Tested for COVID-19

I signed up to get tested for COVID-19. I have no symptoms, have not been in contact with anyone who has tested positive, but I have to get tested in order to be tested for antibodies.

I have done my best to avoid crowds since the entire pandemic led to a shutdown here in the state of Michigan. I wear a mask everywhere I go, I social distance, keep my hands clean, use alcohol wipes everyday to keep my work area clean before and after I finish.

The reason I want to get tested is because back before COVID-19 was officially announced as a pandemic that had entered the United States, I think I may have had it way early on.

On December 23, I was off for the holiday vacation to Christmas shop and prepare for family to visit for the holiday. Well I developed a dry cough and didn't think much of it. Then I began to feel just absolutely miserable and felt the need to take a nap. Again, it is winter time and thought I had a cold.

I felt bad for a couple days then began to feel okay but whatever was wrong with me, was still there.

Then the station had the New Year's Eve concert where I was on the go for about twenty-two hours and I spent seventeen of it outside in the cold and never went inside until I crashed at the hotel at about 4:30 a.m.

Again, I had what I think was a cold, then spent a lot of time dressed properly for the cold which I thought just made my cold worse.

Then, the day after New Year's Day, I felt like I had been hit by a freight train. For three days I stayed in bed. I was sore all over and could barely move. I was sweating one minute then freezing the next minute.

Now I am not one to take naps, usually once I'm up, I am up for the day and I avoid naps so that I don't mess up my sleep schedule.

The following week I just wasn't up to being on the air. So, I had someone fill in for me. I did come into work, but did half days in my office with no contact with my co-workers in order to not spread what I thought was a cold to everyone else. Then I would go home do some work and power sleep.

I had not been sick in the previous three years other than a sinus infection a couple years ago that lasted a couple days but I didn't even miss work over that.

Another thing I found unusual was how long that I felt sick. I first started feeling bad December 23, 2019 but did not start to feel good again until February 14, 2020. Again, this is all pre-pandemic but I thought it was odd that I was sick that long because I have never in my life been sick that long or even close.

When the pandemic was officially announced and then the symptoms had begun to be laid out, I started thinking, maybe I already had COVID-19 and just didn't know. Two weeks after my mom and dad had left my house for the holiday, my mom got sick and it stuck with her a couple months.

Something else I have noticed is that I have not been able to smell properly ever since the holidays. I also have not been able to taste things like I used to. Yes, I eat out of necessity, but unless the flavor is really strong I really have no taste and can barely smell anything.

So I signed up for a free COVID-19 test at a Rite Aid in Grand Rapids. I did this so I could participate in a research study to see if I have the antibodies, but you have to have a COVID-19 test to do so. I figure if I have the antibodies, I could donate plasma to help someone else.

If you are curious and want to get a test, click on the link above, it is absolutely free but you have to be at least 18 years of age. All of the info is easy to understand and you can set up an appointment that works around your schedule. I will let you know what I find out in another article in two to seven days because that is when my results will be back.