An illness began to manifest
On August 9th, our journey to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida began with eager anticipation. Despite the hustle and bustle of the airport, a nagging sense of concern lingered as I noticed fellow travelers coughing and wheezing around me. Ignoring the warning signs, I boarded the Southwest Airlines flight, fueled by excitement and adrenaline, despite having been awake for nearly 24 hours.
As we landed in Orlando and made our way to the resort, the symptoms of illness began to manifest. By the second day, I found myself battling splitting headaches, dizziness, and nausea, dismissing them initially as dehydration or allergies. However, as the day progressed, my condition deteriorated rapidly. On the following evening, anticipation turned to agony as we queued for the Seven Dwarfs ride. A feverish heat engulfed my body, threatening to overwhelm me with its intensity. Desperate for respite, I sought refuge against the cool concrete walls, silently battling to conceal my escalating discomfort from my companions. Despite the fleeting relief offered by the ride’s cool air, my symptoms persisted unabated, each moment marked by a relentless onslaught of throbbing pain and dizziness. As the night wore on, the gravity of my condition became increasingly apparent, casting a shadow over what was meant to be a magical experience at Walt Disney World turned into nights of horror.
By the third day, the situation had escalated, with chills wracking my body and my throat raw and inflamed. Desperate for relief, I sought solace in caffeine, hoping to combat the fatigue and malaise that threatened to overwhelm me. With each sip of espresso-laden coffee, I felt a temporary surge of energy, enough to venture out to Epcot Center despite the growing discomfort.
Yet, even the excitement of the park couldn’t distract from the mounting symptoms – a scratchy throat exacerbated by the exhilarating Cosmic Rewind ride, followed by a wave of sweats and chills that left me trembling and weak. As the night wore on, the symptoms intensified, with difficulty swallowing and an earache adding to the misery. Awakening in the middle of the night to the sound of rales, I grappled with the realization that something was seriously wrong. Drawing upon my medical background, I attempted to alleviate the discomfort, mindful not to exacerbate my already strained lungs. Then I was having difficulty breathing, it hurt, and I couldn’t open my eyes, my partner, stayed by my side, helping to cool my body down with wet towels and cloths.
By morning, the severity of the situation became apparent as my companions and I fell ill one by one, succumbing to the virus’s merciless onslaught. In less than 12 hours, we were plunged into a harrowing roller coaster of symptoms – fever, coughing with green phlegm, and debilitating fatigue that left us bedridden and exhausted. After arriving back home, tests confirmed we were positive for Covid, so each of us were quarantined, we sought medical assistance, only to find limited options available. Despite our desperate pleas for treatment, the clinics we contacted could offer little beyond steroids, leaving us to endure the illness’s wrath with no end in sight. I soon found myself with lower back pain, blood in my urine and blood coming up from my lungs. Finally we found solace, and started heavy rounds of antibiotics. My lungs haven’t been the same.
KEYWORDS: disneyland, disney experience, covid, infection, florida, joffreys coffee, cappuccino, symptoms, rwtc media group, the whistling chronicle newspaper, vacations, vacationing
