Morris County Native Chronicles Coronavirus Battle, Recovery

Editor's note: This story contains an account from a COVID-19 survivor who wishes to remain anonymous. The author verified his identity before writing his account.

MORRISTOWN, NJ - Benjamin couldn't taste his cereal. The 27-year-old Morristown High School graduate hadn't been feeling well, but it was after his sense of smell and taste diminished that he called the urgent care for a COVID-19 test.

It was positive.

"I haven’t had a fever since middle school, so there was no doubt in my mind it could have been anything else," Benjamin said. "I called my local urgent care and told them my symptoms and that someone I work with had tested positive. They told me if I came in I would be able to be tested."

Working in an essential service, Benjamin was still working right up until he developed symptoms. Growing up in Morris County Benjamin played soccer and continues to play as part of a recreation league and is considered reasonably young and healthy. Knowing he was afflicted with the pandemic, he kept a log of his experience, beginning March 27.:

• Day 1: I wake up feeling generally fine, with a very minor sore throat. I was doing a lot of talking in a loud environment the day before and thought it could be from that. Same thing during that day so as it got a bit worse that evening. I wasn’t super worried. Aside from that I felt fine.
• Day 2: I went to bed and I woke up around 1230 a.m. shivering uncontrollably. I put on a sweater and pulled up my covers to warm me up but It didn’t help much. I shivered for about 10-15 min before it stopped. I took my temp during that and interestingly it was normal. When I woke up in the AM i actually felt pretty good but I took my temp again to be safe and it was 100.1. I eat breakfast and can’t really taste my cereal. My sense of smell and taste aren’t gone completely but it seems like they are diminishing. I call my local urgent care and tell them my exposure and symptoms and to my surprise they test me. It sucked. Throughout the day my sense of taste and smell come back
• Day 3: I wake up feeling pretty good and am unsure I even still have a fever. I check my temperature and I do. Still hovering around 100. The only things that still don’t feel right is I have a ton of pressure behind my eyes, and if I look any direction without moving my head it is slightly painful. I am freezing throughout the day. I’ve got pants, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt as well as a comforter and I can’t warm up. I also start to experience minor shortness of breath
• Day 4: I slept well, and I woke up feeling pretty good again, with only a mild fever. Throughout the day I get hot and cold, then develop some shortness of breath. My fever seems to go down, but it feel like I can’t get as much oxygen as I normally do when I breathe. Considering everything this has been pretty mild so far and I am thankful. I go to bed.
• Day 5: I wake up feeling pretty good except for a sore throat. No fever. Still some shortness of breath. Have I beaten this? I am suspect as I’ve heard symptoms come and go, but I’m optimistic. I get the call that my results are in. It’s confirmed that I have COVID-19. I’m not surprised, but still a bit shaken up regardless. I feel pretty good all day actually, with the exception of shortness of breath. I go to bed.
• Day 6-8: I wake up feeling pretty good, but experience shortness of breath throughout the day. The fever doesn’t return but the chest tightness is uncomfortable and I can’t take a deep breath.

Benjamin told Patch that he is still experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath.

"I have been made aware that sometimes symptoms get worse in week two so I am hoping I stay how I am now," he said.

Benjamin said as of Thursday he and his wife, who also developed symptoms, were doing fine.

"My wife is symptomatic. I did not isolate from her. We share food, chapstick, etc., so once I was experiencing symptoms it wasn’t worth it for us to try and isolate from each other. She never had a fever but had all the other symptoms," he said. "I called the urgent care back and asked if my wife should be tested. They told me as long as she was feeling okay that we should just isolate at home and recover."

Despite feeling ok, the couple still had shortness of breath and chest tightness and Benjamin's wife still has a bit of a cough.

"My experience with this has been generally mild. The fever and accompanying symptoms were the worst of it but the shortness of breath and the chest tightness has been the only symptom left the last few days," he said. "I haven’t been able to do much except self quarantine and stay generally positive. Keeping a good attitude about everything has definitely helped."

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