4 Healthy Ways I Live Life After Contracting Covid-19

Life after Covid-19

When the pandemic took the world by storm, I never thought I’d be on the “survivor’s list.” However, I’m grateful that I’m alive and healthy, and able to share my story. After Covid-19 wreaked havoc in my home, I started to show more concern for my overall health and well-being. Before I share the 4 areas where I’ve increased focus, let me tell you how everything went down.

An Exciting New Year Overshadowed by Covid-19

New Year’s Day 2021 was a great day! I enjoyed the morning with my husband, then hung out and played games via zoom with my immediate family in the afternoon. By that evening, I had finished a great meal prepared by my parents, and was ready to call it a night. Unfortunately, I began to feel bad. I had an extremely bad headache, but it wasn’t unusual. I have random migraine-like headaches from time to time, so I didn’t think anything of it.

Coronavirus Causing Disruption

The next morning, I had plans for a very productive day, but the Coronavirus disease I had unknowingly contracted thought differently. I woke up with the same headache, but the pain had intensified. I also had chills, body aches, and my joints were hurting. By the time I got my hands on a thermometer that afternoon, I had a low grade fever. Now, one might say, “Duh, Toni! It’s very obvious what’s going on with you.” Honestly though, having Covid did not initially cross my mind. I’ve had pains in these same areas before, so this wasn’t unusual. I’m not a cold-natured person, but I can have moments where it appears to be colder in the house to me than anyone else. So far, everything I was experiencing was not abnormal. It was different to have them all happening at once, but nothing serious enough for me to become concerned. I have a small headache at the moment that I’m writing this. Therefore, it was nothing out of the ordinary for me.

I tried my best to continue my day as planned, but my body was too weak to get anything done. I even recorded a short video on my Instagram stories to share with my community. I wrote my symptoms off as a combination of stress from a lot of writing, content creating, and other projects I was simultaneously doing around the house. I also believed it could have been a sinus headache. A close friend of mine watched my story and responded. She suggested I get tested because she had a similar situation and wound up testing positive for Covid. Again, I didn’t worry because my symptoms were not serious enough.

Covid Was Right Under My Nose and I Couldn’t Smell It

By the next evening, I was feeling so much better, so again I was not worried. Over the next couple of days, I was stopped up, but it made me feel like it may have been sinus congestion. Once I started having trouble with smelling and tasting, I initially thought I was just extremely congested. However, after a couple of days I began to shift my thinking. I didn’t truly know how bad my lack of smell was until my family made me realize it. One day I’d been cleaning all day with candles lit, and warmers burning with different scents. I asked my husband to pick up stronger scents the next time he went to the store because those were too light. He disagreed and told me how intense the smell was all over the house. It still didn’t really hit me until Eaden came into my room and said that my candle was too strong. I loved this particular candle because of the aroma, but I hadn’t noticed that it was missing. I knew then that my sense of smell was 100% gone. Although I felt perfectly fine, I almost believed then that I must have had Covid.

Coronavirus Confirmation

Ejuan is required to get tested every week for his side hustle, shooting video. For the majority of the pandemic he takes his test and then sends me his negative results via text. Later after I realized my smell was gone, Ejuan called on his way back home from taking his weekly test. He said, “Babe, I tested positive!” He was NOT happy! He worked from home, so his full-time job wouldn’t be affected. However, he knew that he’d have to miss doing video and making that extra money while he quarantined.

4 Ways I’ve Focused on my Health Since Contracting Covid-19

Three out of four of the family members that live in my home tested positive for the Coronavirus. Thankfully I had the worst of the symptoms, that didn’t last long, while the other two only had a little congestion. I know everyone has not lived to talk about their experience, but I have, so for that I’m forever grateful. Since Covid came through our home, I have put in extra work to focus on my health. Here are four areas I work on more consistently now.

• Workout
  • I consistently workout anywhere from 3-5 days a week. My goal is at least 4 days per week, so anything over that is a bonus. I do a combination of cardio, walking, flexibility, and strength training. There are days when I’m not up to it, but I have to remind myself about the importance of staying active and being healthy. Working out with a group keeps me accountable and more likely to stay consistent.
  • To get started, search easy home exercises on Google, Pinterest, or even Instagram. There are so many trainers, wellness coaches, and fitness enthusiasts that share free workouts.
    • Take a walk indoors/outdoors
    • Ride a bike
    • Purchase roller skates and skate in your driveway or neighborhood
• Water Intake
  • I have never been a water drinker. It’s so boring and plain to me, and I like color and flavor when I drink. However, I push myself to drink at least 8 cups of water per day. At one point I’d downloaded an app on my phone to help me stay focused. Each time I finished a cup, I would log it into the app. Once I became more consistent, I stopped using the app. Now, I refill my cup throughout the day and use an erasable marker to write down the current cup number I’m on. This helps me keep count and assure that I will reach my goal for the day.
  • To help you get started, start small. Break your water up into chunks, so you don’t get overwhelmed. Ejuan drinks a full gallon of water a day. I’ve recently started doing the same, but seeing a gallon of water intimidates me. Instead, I use my personal cup that holds 16 ounces, or drink a 16.9 oz. bottle of water. I fill it up after I finish (or grab another bottle), and keep going until I’ve finished eight 16 ounce cups for the day.
    • Do what works for you, but get started on drinking more water.
• Healthier Eating
  • I have researched different food items that are high in protein, Vitamin C and also benefit heart health, lung health and are healthy portable snacks. Packing healthier foods before going on errands or doing other activities away from home is a guaranteed way to stay focused on your healthy habits.
  • I have found several recipes that use the specific ingredients that I’ve started buying more of. Doing this ensures we are going to eat more healthy and not waste any of the fresh foods we’ve bought.
    • There are so many resources online and free recipes to help you become and remain a healthier you.
• Vitamins
  • Although there has been talk that vitamins have no fight against Covid-19, I’d rather be safer than sorry. It’s also good to boost my immune system. I have added to my one multivitamin I was taking once a day. I now take Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Elderberry and Zinc. Whether these supplements can prevent Coronavirus or not, I am focused on my overall immune health and general wellness.
    • As always, do your own research and see what supplement and vitamins will be good for you.

Have you changed your lifestyle in any way since the pandemic hit? 

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this. We can wash our hands vigorously and use lysol wipes and spray on everything, but nothing guarantees we won’t catch Covid. You can get it from a family member that is an essential worker. You can pick it up from one of your co-workers, or contract it from being in the grocery store for two minutes. However, we can continue to wash our hands, wear our masks, and follow all CDC guidelines to try to prevent the spread of it. Focus on doing your part and take care of you and your family. Start practicing healthier habits today! Hopefully, we are on the other side of this and things will continue to get better.

Thanks for hanging out with me!