“the burning was horribly intense,” she said. “it felt like my chest had like a fire lit in it. i would toss and turn for hours every night, unable to sleep and just wondering basically if i would wake up in the morning.
“it was terrifying. i just woke up every day (and thought) ‘thank god i’m still here.’”
watt’s fiance edip tac, who she was living with, contracted the virus from her.
“he didn’t have it nearly as bad as me,” watt said. “he had chronic fatigue where he just slept basically for two weeks straight.”
but the covid-19 story didn’t end there for watt.
uncomfortable with how long her symptoms were lasting, watt — a self-confessed non-drinker, non-smoker, non-drug user — saw a respirologist and after being prescribed steroid inhalers, finally felt some relief.
“but i never actually got better,” she said. “it kind of just morphed from the severe symptoms into these all-new, long-hauler symptoms, which were completely different from the symptoms i had during the initial infection.”
she had bouts of fatigue that would force her to stay in bed all day, brain fog, stomach ailments and minor kidney issues.
“i still have a lot of health issues,” watt said. “they come and go in waves. on a day-to-day basis, i still live with severe asthma. it’s very limiting. for me, it’s quite devastating.