A long Covid, or Over the Wall — Tuesday 30th March 2021
I can’t taste or smell anything today. A weird feeling, unexpected, but a known side effect of Covid, which I have.
I’ve felt tired today. Max was here for most of the day and so I found it tough to focus on work, and when he left with Amy, who also has Covid, I felt too tired to do much and slept for an hour or two. The day has gone by in a flash and I feel vaguely guilty for not doing more. And, I still feel tired.
But the lack of taste and smell is the worst of all my symptoms. I had some Marmite on toast for dinner — I also don’t have much of an appetite — and couldn't taste it at all.
The weirdest thing of all is that I recognised that it was Marmite. I got the sense of the taste of it, without actually tasting it. It hit the same part of my mouth in the way it always does when I eat Marmite. It’s an odd feeling.
Maybe I could use this moment to try and convince myself that I like tomatoes? I could eat a whole basketful of them tomorrow, and various types, and maybe I’d enjoy them because I couldn't taste them?
The only drawback with this plan is that it’s not the taste of tomatoes that I dislike — I actually like it, a lot — it’s the texture. I think.
I don’t like tomatoes, alright?
It’s my birthday tomorrow. I’ll be 38 in less than four hours. 38! That’s a big number and quite the achievement, wouldn't you agree?
It’s gone overcast this evening but the temperature hasn’t dropped much. Woody and Nina are upstairs asleep somewhere and I’m excited to see them when they come down to join me in the living room again.
Below is a photo I took of Max whilst he was pulling faces earlier, and below that is an entry from my diary written this time last year.
Tuesday 30th March 2021
It was a good birthday.
It’s just gone 9 pm and I’m sitting in the living room, with a belly full of pasta and garlic bread and I’ve just put 47 Ronin on the television. I’m sure I’d naively put other things in my diary this evening, but as soon as I finish typing this I’m closing my laptop, lying down and watching this.
It was warm today, the warmest day of the year, and the sun brought a good feeling with it. I received lots of messages from around the internet and from friends messaging me to wish me a good birthday. I feel grateful for all of the messages I received.
I’ve been spoiled, once again by my family, with presents arriving throughout the afternoon and visits from my Mum, Dad and David and Siobhan. Max has spent the evening with me and this morning we had birthday cuddles and it set the day off right. His day ended with birthday cuddles in bed, where he’s sleeping soundly now.
And here I am, a 37 year old me, grateful and full of food and tired and overwhelmed still from all the goodness of the day.
Maybe I’ll have that lie down now.
This is part of a series of diary entries I wrote from April 2020 to April 2021. I’m posting them a year out from when I first wrote them. You can read the other ones I’ve posted here
