KHNS reporter shares first-hand experience with COVID-19

Last week Haines saw its first major COVID outbreak, with a peak 62 of active cases last Friday. As of Monday night, 13 more people tested positive, but 11 people were released from quarantine, plus four that were presumed positive, bringing the total to 55 active cases. Four staff members with our radio station, KHNS, tested positive, including our reporter Corinne Smith. She got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April, but came down with flu-like symptoms. She shared some of her experience with Mike Swasey. 

 

Mike: Alright, Corinne. So you tested positive for COVID-19. Tell me when you first started feeling symptoms.

Corinne: Yeah, so I left Haines for the weekend, last week on Thursday, for a weekend in Portland. And the first day there on Friday, about midday, came down with kind of a scratchy throat. And it was kind of on the back of my mind, kind of something to watch. And later that afternoon, I started hearing from coworkers and friends in Haines that people are testing positive. I was like, oh no, okay, here we go. And scheduled a test for the next day. And Saturday morning tested positive for COVID.

Mike: What was that moment like? What was the feeling?

Corinne: Kind of… doom, to be honest. You’re like, wow, alright, it’s happened to me. So much energy over this past year trying to, you know, stay safe, stay away from people. And, and then it’s kind of like, submitting to the reality of the situation, like, alright, it’s happened to me. 

Mike: And then you started making calls. I mean, and who was your first call to?

Corinne: My first call was to you, Mike Swasey, I wanted to let you know, because we were hanging out last weekend at the fair. And we did reporting there. So I wanted to let you know, and then also to kind of prepare for the news coverage that would be happening this week, because more and more people in Haines were testing positive. So just want to check in with you about how we were going to go about that. Then, I called my parents. And then from there, I reached out to everyone I was hanging out with at the fair, the weekend before, and to the people that I had interviewed. Because, you know, I had definitely lapsed judgment in terms of COVID precautions when covering the fair last weekend. I did not wear a mask and did not socially distance. So I was interviewing people, one on one, and so wanted to let them all know about my positive status and encourage them to get a test.

Mike: Did you find anybody that was upset with you when you called them?

Corinne: No, no people were very sympathetic. They were very understanding. Um, someone did say, you know, no hard feelings here. (I was) like, Okay, thank you. But everyone was very understanding and, and went and got tested afterward.

Mike:  That’s good. And so it tell me about the onset of the symptoms, you had a pretty intense case and tell me how that kind of devolved into being just really sick.

Corinne: Yeah, so, it started with a scratchy throat and from there kind of descended into a cough congestion and then just feeling really tired and rundown. And the next couple days, I’d say day three, day four, I was really struggling. I slept a lot. And then also kind of the stress of it, the emotional turmoil, not knowing how sick you’re going to get is very, very stressful. I did have a fever as well on day four. And kind of just tried to be patient and drink a lot of fluids, a lot of tea, and just kind of see this through and have confidence that I would get through it. A weird thing too, on day four, I lost my taste and smell. I was actually eating pickles and like having a little snack and was like, wow, this is wrong here. I can’t taste anything. And that actually has not come back yet. I’m on day 11 now, and I’m still coughing a bit and still pretty tired. And the taste has not come back yet.

Mike: So no matter how spicy it is, no matter how foul it is, you can’t taste it or smell it?

Corinne: (Laughing) No. I mean I’ve got temperature, and I’ve got texture, other than that, no taste.

Mike: Wow… Okay so what was the lowest point during your battle with COVID?

Corinne: Well, I will say there’s a lot of highs and lows. Like I said, this is very emotional. And you’re kind of, you know, keeping people updated, but you’re also isolated. So that was tough. I was isolating in an Airbnb in Portland. So it was a studio apartment. And luckily, I found that place and I was outfitted like with groceries and so could do all my own cooking and I was very self reliant, but, it was tough. There was also a heatwave going on in Portland, it was over 100 degrees. And at certain parts of last week, I definitely called my mom like, this is hard. But you kind of have to psych yourself up. I talked on the phone a lot. I talked to my family a lot and friends and to you, in covering the news. 

For me, I would say I turned around on day five. And I’ve heard that that’s pretty common, on day five, you kind of start feeling better. And that was true for me too. And then knowing that, in 10 days, quarantine will be over and you’re going to be out was a real kind of uplifting thought. I was like, alright, I got this, I can get to the end of 10 days. This is not forever.

Mike: Yeah, and it doesn’t look like COVID is going away anytime soon. Not to end this on a on a down note or anything, but it certainly looks like this is gonna be a tough winter with the delta variant not really caring if you’re vaccinated, or when I mean, it does, in some ways, like you and I were hanging out, we were talking right next to each other. I didn’t get it and you did, so it’s kind of random and kind of not. It’s just strange, it’s such a strange time we live in.

Corinne: Yeah, I think that’s one of the hardest parts, is the uncertainty. This virus affects people of all ages and all different ways. You know, some people are asymptomatic. Some people like me get really sick, even though I was vaccinated. So it’s a hard thing. And dealing with that uncertainty is really tough.

Mike: Yeah. Anything else that you want to add?

Corinne: Yeah, I had really good support through this quarantine. It made me think a lot about all the people out there who are quarantined and who are sick, and who are grappling with this. People really do need help. So for our listeners, first of all, I just want to say you’re not alone. It’s a hard sickness. But also, if you are able to check on people, if you are able to help, if you’re able to just bring drop off dinner or groceries or just check in with a text or call. It does mean a lot, to kind of combat that isolation. And, you know, it’s a personal experience, but also it impacts communities. People do need help right now.

Mike: Thanks so much for sharing this story. I think it’s important for people to hear firsthand what the journey through COVID-19 looks like.

Corinne: Of course, thank you.