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Approximately two years ago, at the start of the pandemic, I remember reading an article talking about how inevitable the spread of the virus was. I don’t remember where I read it but it stated 40 to 70 percent of the population would catch COVID-19. I don’t remember the timeframe, but thought that sounded frighteningly high.

So, for the better part of two years, I had been able to dodge the virus. I didn’t stay away from people but took some precautions. My wife and I had our daughter early last year, so being around a bunch of people wasn’t a high priority to us.

Over the winter break, my 9-month-old came down with a fever. She had recently been with my nephew, who tested positive for a common cold. Naturally, my wife and I figured that is what she caught.

After a few days with a fever, our youngest shook her fever and was back to her normal self.

Then, after one week of being back in school, our 5-year-old daughter left school early with a fever. She was only sick for 24 hours and then my wife got sick. A couple of days later, I got a fever. Out of caution, I went to get tested for COVID. The test came back negative, but the nurse practitioner told me I might have tested too soon. I had only had symptoms for approximately 12 hours. My wife had not experienced any other symptoms besides fever, so I was not sure any of us had it.

Sure enough, after I got home from getting tested, my wife said she could not taste anything. The loss of taste came five days after her fever, which apparently is common. After that, I didn’t see the need to get tested anymore and treated myself as though I was positive.

Luckily, it seems to be the Omicron version, which has been less lethal and damaging than previous variants.

My family and I are doing well and I am thankful to have a job that allows me to work from home when needed.

Dodging the disease for two years doesn’t mean one will always dodge it. While traditional knowledge says the variants will get weaker as time goes on, there is always a possibility one becomes stronger. We are now living with the disease and will not likely see a “post-COVID world.” That is not a doom’s day proclamation. It’s just the way it is. We are all adapting to life being a bit cleaner and a bit more aware of how we interact with one another, which is something we probably should’ve been doing all along. Stay safe.

 

Chris Moore is the sports editor for Port Arthur Newsmedia. He can be reached at chris.moore@panews.com.