It was 3 a.m. and I was lying in bed listening to ambulance sirens. Nighttime is usually quiet in my Brooklyn neighborhood, but not in recent weeks.
Wrapped like a burrito in my heavy comforter with another blanket draped over me, I was still cold. The thermometer hadn’t strayed from 101.2° Fahrenheit since 11 p.m., which was when I arranged myself in bed in this position, staying very still. My head was throbbing as if I were suspended upside down in the air, and my chest was heavy. It felt like something could explode internally if I breathed in too deeply.
Also, I was alone.
That’s usually not a problem for me. But then, on the seventh day of my COVID-19 quarantine, it was scary as hell.
Earlier that evening, I forced myself to eat two slices of pizza that I ordered through no-contact delivery because I couldn’t muster the energy to scramble eggs and put bread in the toaster. I never showered or changed out of my pajamas because I didn’t have anything clean left that I could wear.
Usually, I’m good at self-care. I floss, make healthy food to fill my freezer, exfoliate once a week. But being sick with COVID-19 requires next-level self-care. For the roughly 36 million Americans like me who live in single-person households, knowing what to do—and when—is critical.
Thankfully, I managed to come through to the other side of what my doctor describes as a mild-to-moderate case of COVID-19 without any visits to the hospital or complications. Since I recovered, I have been thinking a lot about what I did right and what I could have done differently to make those days alone more manageable.
I hope you don’t get sick with the coronavirus, but here are my tips for how to prepare and cope if you do.
Accept that you’re sick
Remember, most people who get this virus have mild symptoms and don’t require hospitalization. However, you should keep in mind that your risk for hospitalization and severe illness increases with age and if you have any preexisting health issues. At the beginning of your illness, the symptoms are most likely to be manageable at home, so do not leave until you speak with a doctor—even if you’re equipped with a mask and gloves. You’re sick and there’s not much you can do about it, so now you need to get better and avoid exposing other people.
Contact your doctor
This isn’t the time to consult Dr. Google. You need a doctor who’s able to practice telemedicine. In fact, if you don’t have a primary care physician, it would be a good idea to establish care with one now (even if you’re well) so you’ll know who to call in case you do get sick. I reached out to my doctor, Dr. Lalita Abhyankar, a family physician at the Institute for Family Health, who put me on her calendar immediately. We had three video visits and exchanged a handful of emails through the clinic’s secured system during my illness.
Regardless of whether or not you can get tested (right now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance prioritizes testing for essential workers and patients who are older or have preexisting conditions), you need a clinician who can follow your illness for two weeks to make sure you’re getting better.
Helpfully, most medical centers in the country have set up telemedicine urgent care specifically for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, and many practices have shifted to virtual care.
