Valerie Joy Wilson COVID-19 Social Story

I just got tested for the coronavirus. And I'm freaking out, because the doctor's sending me to the emergency room because my white blood cell count's so low.

I travel almost full time. I travel like 80% of the year as a travel journalist and blogger. And I go all over the world. And so I'm rarely home, except for now.

My first symptom was I started to have a weird feeling. It kind of felt like a wave running through my body, where I felt like I was short circuiting. After that, I started to lose my sense of taste and smell completely. I couldn't taste anything. I couldn't smell anything.

And I started to develop a quick little fever. That was only 99 degrees for about an hour. And then I started to get the hallmark symptoms, which are the dry cough, and the headaches throughout the day. But it just kept getting stronger and stronger, and I was coughing all throughout the day.

One of the scariest things was when the doctor actually tested me for COVID-19. And I was tested on a Friday morning. And at 6:00 PM the following Monday, I got a voicemail from my doctor saying Valerie, this is very important. You need to call me back immediately.

And I called him back. And I-- before he even said anything, I said I have it, don't I? He said yes, you do. And I broke down crying. And it was really hard, because I kept asking him questions, and he just didn't have the answers, because it is a new virus.

So from start to finish, from the beginning of my symptoms to being symptom-free and released from the health department, was 16 days. I'm sharing my story, because I think it's important for those who are struggling with the fear of COVID-19, or actually have a positive test for COVID-19, I think it's important for them to see that somebody else has gotten better.

But it's also important for millennials to understand that you can become sick with the virus. And it is dangerous. I'm looking forward to a hug. I'm going to like cry. I haven't had any human interaction, outside of the doctor swabbing my throat, in quite a while.