Sam X

Age at interview: 36

Brief Outline:

Gender: Transfeminine
Ethnicity: White English
Background: Sam is 36 years old and is White English. She lives in a shared house and works as a researcher. Sam caught Covid in the summer of 2021 after a celebratory birthday weekend. She was surprised by how ill she had been, and was grateful for having had the first vaccine before catching Covid.  

 

Sam X got information about Covid from Twitter threads and friends as well as some government sources and mainstream news.

I was able to keep track of things on Twitter. There was a lot of useful, a lot of useful stuff on social media like things broken down into twitter threads that made it a lot easier to understand. And I got a little bit from the government and the news and things and other, and then also a bit from friends explaining it to me.

Sam X felt embarrassed and ashamed when she got Covid in summer 2021.

Well, I guess people know what the risk factors are and so I, one of the risk factors is like, you know, cleanliness I guess and then another one about being close to people and taking risk, risk taking behaviours and I just, with like any virus or illness, there were a number of risky behaviours that people are aware of because it’s been drummed into us for the last eighteen months and I felt embarrassed and ashamed, like a little bit, just a very smidge embarrassment and shame because I took some made some decisions that were risky for my health. I attended, you know, I went to city that was high on the list of infections. I sat around people, who I didn’t know, probably spoke to them a little bit too much in their, in a small proximity. Drunk a lot so battered my, you know, weakened my immune system and I ended up catching what everyone in the world is aware of but doesn’t want to catch. And kind of proving, I suppose proving myself my own fears right and everyone else’s fears right that if you do these things, not risks, like if you take too many risks and put yourself in a, in harm’s way, then it will get you. And so yeah, those kind of feelings yeah, those kind of feelings.

The longer Sam stayed Covid-free, the more she felt she might not catch it.

We’d say we were immune or invulnerable to it because we could going out into risky situations, to bars and things like, you know, following the rules and stuff but, when you’re out, people are drinking and you’re in those kind of environments, you feel less susceptible and this feels less dangerous and you just a lot of time, people might get closer to you than you’re supposed to get closer to and then buildings aren’t ventilated like you think they should, you know, you know they should be. And each of those times I went out in the summer and in the well, late spring here every time I went out, I didn’t catch it so I felt particularly, I felt invulnerable. Well, felt less susceptible to it than I it turned out I was.

Sam X knew ‘something was happening’ but tested negative for Covid. Her symptoms continued to get worse and she later tested positive.

I know when I’m about to get a cold because I get a very sore throat and I did have a very sore throat on Tuesday. So I knew something was happening. I knew I was going to get ill. There was no coughing but there was a lot of phlegm. It felt in the evening, that night and the fever also started that night as well. So yes, so Tuesday was very sore throat, cold symptoms. I did a test, so I did lateral flow test on Tuesday. All my friends did and they all, we all came back negative. So that was that was, that made us feel, oh, I felt, I said, “Oh, it’s just a cold then. Oh, managed to just pick up a cold from Newcastle, We all have.” But then my friend was convinced it, then my friend, he did a PCR test that day, the same Tuesday, and that came back positive and I booked my PCR test on Wednesday, as did my other friend.

Sam posted about having Covid on Facebook and found that everyone was sympathetic.

Everyone was very nice about it because so many people who, with it, you know, everyone knows someone that’s had it I think and also if they know someone who’s had it, they know it’s not like a joke. We’ve suffered for it so and I think so everyone was very sympathetic.

Sam caught Covid in July 2021. She was surprised at how sick they were and how many symptoms she had.

I will say unequivocally, without yeah, shadow of a doubt, it’s been the worst I’ve been sick ever in my life and the longest I’ve been sick, and I didn’t appreciate just how difficult it would be to just how nasty the symptoms are and so many of them as well.

Sam and her friends caught Covid in July 2021. Sam couldn’t get out of bed for three days, but her friends were just quite tired.

The consensus or the consensus between the three of us was I had the worst symptoms because I, you know, wasn’t able to get out of bed for the three, you know. For three days, I was just shivering on my sofa or sweating and didn’t sleep very well. Whereas from my friends, they were saying, oh quite tired. They were, one of them was just tired. The other one kept on saying how every day they felt better and it only kinda lasted a few days for them.

Sam X was able to carry on as normal when she was ill rather than be stuck in her bedroom.

Both my friends had family that they tried to isolate from so stick in their bedrooms and keep some distance. Luckily, their family didn’t get infected. And I was just on my own so like normal. Just having to watch lots of movies and try and ignore, trying to wait for it to finish, I guess.

Sam X was living alone while she was ill. Her friends sent her a care package, and she also did her shopping online.

My friends, bless them, sent me a care package of medication. That arrived on Wednesday I think it was and that was a life saver. I was able, because I live in the city, I was able to order stuff to be sent to me within a short time frame.

Sam X was relieved that her body had coped with the virus and concerned about getting it again, especially with a new variant.

Well, I don’t know much about immune responses and things but I know that, you know, my body has had a chance to fight off the virus. And so if I become present the virus is around me again, it knows what it’s doing. It’s not specifically this variant I imagine. So yeah. I feel less scared about getting it again. At the same time, I don’t want those symptoms ever again.