I got it! I got it! I tested positive!….

Ok so this is the story:

• Thursday Dec 16th in the morning PCR test – NEGATIVE
• Friday morning my travel adventure starts. I had to do Montreal – Newark – Washington – Dominican Republic
• I stayed one night at Santo Domingo and then took the plane to Venezuela on Saturday, December 18th.
• We had to do another PCR test upon arrival at the Venezuelan airport. Results came in on Sunday morning: NEGATIVE.
• Sunday I starting feeling a bit awkward, but I told myself it must be that I did not sleep well the night before, I was super tired because of all those flights and I was looking around at old dusty pictures, so all that dust must be responsible for my mild nasal congestion. Let’s recall I had tested negative to TWO PCR tests within the last 72 hours so chances of me having the virus (in my head, at least) were close to null.
• Monday morning I woke up feeling a bit warm… I remember waking up and touching my mom and she was like “Girl, you are super warm!”… So she took my temperature and it showed 37.5, which is not considered to be a fever, but it is a bit warm. So we spoke to my sister (she’s an MD) and she said to remain isolated just in case, but again because I had just tested negative twice we did not think this was related to the virus.
• Monday afternoon I even went out for a walk/jog outside and I felt super great upon getting back from the workout… so I really did not think I was sick.
• Tuesday I remember feeling ok, I did feel weird, but i did not feel sick necessarily. That day my brother in law and I even went hiking.
• Wednesday I felt well in  the morning… maybe a tiny bit of nasal congestion, but again, I told myself it might be all the dust. I did feel my glutes hurting, but I attributed it to the hike. It seemed weird to me though, because I usually train harder and my muscles won’t ache like this. 
• Wednesday afternoon / night I felt as if I had a cold. The nasal congestion intensified and I had a headache.. I was a bit tired but I had no fever.
• Thursday morning I felt ok again, I still had a mild nasal congestion but I felt well overall. I even went for a run that day. However, I had a weird pain in my lower back. And because I found a logical reason for every symptom, I attributed this to the mattress.
• My sister arrived Thursday night, and upon telling her that I still felt congested she said to take a rapid test… SURPRISE! It was POSITIVE!!! 

• Friday December 24th I went for a PCR test (to corroborate what we saw the night before) and the result was CONFIRMED! I remember feeling so well that day that I thought this test might be negative, but nope. 
• By Sunday December 26th I felt completely normal. But I remained precocious wearing my mask and not hugging people until December 30th (10 days after the symptoms started)
• Because I was travelling again I took another antigen test on January 1st: NEGATIVE.
• I had to take another PCR at Santo Domingo airport. Let me make a small parenthesis: the PCR test could be positive for up to 12 weeks after infection because these test can pick up any viral residuals you might have, so if this came positive i did not mean I was infectious, however it came out NEGATIVE.

Additional notes:

• I never stopped working out.
• I never had a fever, or lost any taste.
• I think I lost my smell a bit for a couple of days, but nothing super weird.
• I spent lots of time outside.
• Windows were always open at home to allow air to circulate.
• I usually feel WORSE when I get a COLD. However, when I do get one, it only lasts 3 days. The symptoms this time lasted for almost a week.
• I think I got it in Montreal, on Wednesday night. I think this because I started feeling awkward 4 days afterwards. So yes, I might have been infected but still tested negative to TWO PCR TESTS.
• This thing is highly contagious and thank God for me, it was nothing, but it might not be the case for everyone. So please take care of yourself and those around you. The idea is not to become paranoid, but just be precocious, especially if you feel ANY symptoms.
• Keeping your mental state UP is CRUCIAL! And I know it is hard having to be isolated, but you have to help yourself and try to still do things you enjoy without putting anyone at risk. Imagine in my case, the main reason for my trip was to be with my family, hang out with them and HUG them, and I had to refrain myself to do so for half of my trip.

If you have questions, I will be happy to answer! Having this made me ask a lot of questions and I think I really gained a deeper understanding of this virus.