True Life: I’m Beginning To Think I’m A COVID Magnet

Remember way back when, like three years ago, when most of us didn't even know what COVID-19 was?

Those were the days.

Fast forward to February 2023 and I'm currently on my THIRD ROUND of COVID, and I'm not happy about it, at all. In fact, I'm beginning to think that I am officially a COVID magnet.

Does 'Third Time's A Charm' Apply To COVID?

Let me preface this with the fact that I've been very lucky to have mild cases during my previous two bouts with good ol' COVID, this time though, it came out of nowhere and knocked me down like a ton of bricks.

Way back in late November of 2020 I asked one of the teenagers in my neighborhood to help me get some of my Christmas decorations out of my basement. After bringing a few bins up he mentioned how good it smelled in my house, asking if I had a candle lit or something. The look we gave each other when I said 'what smell, I can't smell anything' was pure shock, and he took off out the door faster than I could shove my nose in every strongly scented item in my house to test my sense of smell.

The 'funny' thing about round one was I went and got tested at a local urgent care, back when cars were lined up outside and doctors were swabbing through car windows. The immediate one was negative, but then 7 DAYS LATER the doctor contacted me to say I was in fact positive and the county would contact me with more information. Testing and contract tracing was such a disaster back then, and so delayed, I was out of quarantine before I even went into it.

Other than being tired, oh and not getting my smell back for nearly three months, I had an easy go at COVID in 2020.

Round two came this past October when I had a direct exposure at one of my daughter's extracurricular activities and wound up on the couch for another 5 days with pounding headaches and what felt like a head cold. After testing myself at home like 4 times and getting negatives, I got tested at Urgent Care and received a positive result.

READ MORE: Went For A Pre-Op COVID Test, Billed For A Chlamydia Test?

The COVID Hat-Trick? Three Strikes And You're Out? Have I Been Granted Three More Wishes?

Fast forward to this week, I was feeling totally fine. Like more than fine. Worked on Saturday, hosted some friends and family Sunday for the game, not a symptom in the world. Monday I woke up fine, went to work fine, and all of a sudden, just after 10am I was in fact not fine. It felt like I was hit by a tractor trailer.

Watery eyes, congestion, sneezing, coughing, dizzy and light headed - all out of nowhere. I was actually meeting with someone who was genuinely concerned at what was happening before his eyes as we talked and I got worse by the second.

I immediately left and went home, grabbed a test from my medicine cabinet and began the at-home swabbing process. You know how it tells you to wait like 10-15 minutes for results? Nope, not here, the first sample drop into the test kit and that positive line lit up like a Christmas tree.

How is this happening to me again?

Took a second test, also positive. Tested my daughter, thankfully negative and I'm now referring to her as 'little teflon Turco' as she's managed to stay COVID-free so far all three times I've had it. Looks like I caught it from someone else I work closely with at my job who tested positive a few days before me.

I guess what I'm wondering is, has anyone else been as lucky as me to randomly catch this thing so many times? I try to be careful and do the right thing - vaccinated, boosted, we sanitize consistently, mask when appropriate, hell we even went to Disney World in December and worked so hard to stay COVID-free, but yet here I am catching it again, and just by being at work.

Share your thoughts, advice, recommendations for movies or TV shows to binge while I go stir crazy in my house for the next few days.