Listen to Rebecca's story and how she handled having covid by clicking on the SoundCloud play button. You can also read Rebecca's transcript below.
Rebecca's Story: Recorded March 11th, 2022.
Bailea Jackson 00:01
Alright, so before we jump into our first question, can I just get you to introduce yourself?
Rebecca 00:07
My name is Rebecca. Do you want more?
Bailea Jackson 00:11
Well, how long have you been living in Alberta for?
Rebecca 00:14
All my life. I was born in Edmonton. We lived in Beaumont for the first couple years of my life and then moved to St. Albert, where I've lived pretty much the rest of my life, one year in England, and then the rest has all been in Alberta.
Bailea Jackson 00:30
When you were in England, was that part of COVID? Or was that before COVID?
Rebecca 00:35
That was before COVID. That was like 2016. So did my masters there and then moved back.
Bailea Jackson 00:41
Okay, so you've been in Alberta since the whole COVID?
Rebecca 00:45
Yeah. Yeah, at the start of the pandemic, I was here.
Bailea Jackson 00:48
Cool. Alright, so my first question for you is, what might someone living in Alberta choose to consider the start of the pandemic? So this is kind of a, a general question about Albertans. What do you think they would consider the start?
Rebecca 01:04
Well, I remember we got our first COVID case, March 4th 2020. So I remember that was kind of when it felt real here, because obviously, other countries and other places had had cases before us. And I just remember hearing the Alberta has its first case and just thinking, oh, like, oh, no, like, our province has gotten it now. So I think that's kind of the start when it became real that it was in Alberta. Like, instead of just the abstract, okay, there's cases, I think, in Ontario first, and obviously in China, and I think England got hit pretty hard before we did, I think. But I remember what March 4 was when we got our first case. And it just like, I think the whole province almost had the Oh, no, like, we have it here. And then I think a few days later where we got the second case, and it was like, okay, like it's starting to feel real.
Bailea Jackson 02:00
Yeah. And was that when you personally felt that that was the start? Or was there a different?
Rebecca 02:06
I mean, I had that moment of oh, no, like it's here. But I remember because my birthday is March 14th, and the big lockdown started March 16th. So I remember, because I love my birthday, I was still on planning birthday mode. And I had, I think a full day on the 14th, which was a Saturday, completely planned. And I was all excited for it and kind of as the Saturday got closer, the restaurant I was going to for lunch kind of started, like kind of closed down there doing a big promotion, because it's Pi Day - so it was a pizza place. And they're like, Oh, we don't feel comfortable doing this because we don't want big groups of people in our restaurant. And just a few kind of other plans kind of started going haywire. Like I had one friend who is very COVID conscious, and we were supposed to go for lunch. I think she was pregnant at that point, she would have been pregnant, she would have been pregnant that point too. So she didn't want to go out. So then she kind of say, well, can we just hang out, you know, at your place instead? And so my birthday was kind of that big tipping point for me where it was, okay, my life is about to not be how it normally is or my birthday, where I normally see all my friends and family, kind of got put in on the backburner. And I remember it was kind of a really crappy birthday, because everyone was scared, everybody was, you know, the unknown. And on the 15th, that's when I saw my my grandparents. And as we're having dinner, my sister who's a teacher, she got a text, because this, one of the students is watching the news and they had closed the schools down starting that Monday, and she had no idea. And we're sitting there when she got the message. And so then she had to go into panic mode, because then all of her, she's a grade four teacher at the time, all of her students were messaging her through whatever school app they have. And she had to figure out what was happening. And so like, it's kind of that my birthday weekend where I was like, Okay, no, you know, my life is there's a big change coming.
Bailea Jackson 04:07
Okay, yeah. Okay, so, second question, how have you marked celebrations with your friends and family during the pandemic? So you mentioned your birthday. So in the pandemic, other birthdays, maybe other types of celebrations. How did you mark those?
Rebecca 04:24
So my family was a fan of the Zoom calls for the first little bit. Especially my grandparents, because they had - we gave them an iPad like years ago, and it's the first time they really got to use their iPad. And they found it so- like they I think they actually really enjoyed it. They got to, you know, use technology to see us. So they really enjoyed that to the point where it was too much where they, like, I kept getting a message that my grandpa started a Zoom call, like almost every other day is like we don't talk this much. Haha. Why are we doing this? So I remember Easter, it would have been the first one. And that was the first year that, you know, my family didn't get together. And that's because at that time, I wasn't even seeing my parents. So because I live alone, I was, you know. So I went to my family's house picked up a turkey dinner that was like on a- and had to stay outside, it was like minus 30. And so like, it's kind of weird. And then we kind of moved on a bit from that. Because I live alone, I was allowed two cohorts. So that, my parents like my parents, my siblings, because they live together, became a cohort. So then kind of celebrations became normal. We just didn't include my like my aunt's my cousins and stuff. So it didn't seem, the first couple were pretty different and then it kind of went back. And then this Christmas was the first year we did all like all together. With my aunts. My aunts from California flew this year for Christmas, she didn't last. She was the first year she didn't fly home from California was 20- I guess, December 2020. So she's zoom called an ate turkey with us, which was weird. So my family was pretty good about finding alternative ways. And we don't hang out that, like, it was just the holidays that and like my grandparents, they kind of became a cohort with us too. So because they needed help, you know, cleaning, like, they just got old, so my mom would go and clean. So then they kind of became- so really, it wasn't that different besides the first couple, couple of holidays.
Bailea Jackson 05:53
With your aunts? Gotcha. Okay. And so on a daily basis, how has your daily routine changed because of the pandemic?
Rebecca 06:44
Woah, it's changed so much. Because I work in an office, we were some of the first ones to start working from home. So I went from, you know, having- I'm a very big, routine based person. So I used to work out in the morning, you know, whether it was going to a gym that's by my house or working out at home, and then getting ready to go into work, and then coming home, and usually having plans in the evening to have no, no gym, no going to work. So just completely changed how I live my life. And again, as I live alone, it was just so much time alone. And like I'd go for long walks, which I never used to do. And I never got into the big, like sourdough starter phases. But I mean puzzles, I did, I did start doing which then I learned I really liked those, so there are some silver lining. I guess, but yeah just like my routine completely change and at the start of the pandemic is working for my normal job. And because that job is very social, and I loved my, absolutely love all my coworkers at that job. And I used to love going into the office to see them. And then coming home and then having the job which itself only takes like four hours in the day, but it used to take longer because we'd socialize. So then I was just board. And just yeah, it was really different.
Bailea Jackson 08:15
So then the biggest change in your daily routine is the lack of socialization. And just what do you do with yourself?
Rebecca 08:24
Yeah, and as much as I, because I have some really amazing friends and we did a lot of, you know, the FaceTime dates and the games and stuff we could do online, but like a lot of it was, was gone. And I read this thing once online, where it said, what are the unspoken things that the pandemic ruined that no one talks about is that you lose your casual acquaintances. And I was thinking about that, because I have a lot of like, I'm a very social person, I have a lot of friends that I'd kind of, you know, see every few months or, you know, see with, like, friends of friends that you see at parties and stuff. And they're the people you don't really feel the need to, you know, text, because you're not really that close. And now they're all gone. And I think yeah, like that's so true. You don't have those events where you see these people or. So the only people that you talk to are the ones that you actively seek to talk to. And so then all, you kind of lose all your lower friends. It's kind of all just now your big, like your good friends and your co workers and that's it. Yeah. So I found that kind of hit me hard to like. And I love hosting stuff at my house and having people over and that stopped. And so yeah, I'd say the biggest thing was socializing. For sure.
Bailea Jackson 09:45
Yeah. Okay. So as someone who works with their community, how can you think of, or can you think of any moments that have happened because of the pandemic that have changed how you percieve that community, and it can be any of the communities that you're engaged with.
Rebecca 10:06
So I changed jobs in the pandemic. So now I'm working for like a COVID Relief Fund Provider, I guess. So what we do is we give employers money for, to hire unemployed people to kind of get, get people back working. And it's just amazing having my eyes opened to the economy part of the pandemic. Because before, I was one of the very lucky people who had a stable job throughout, like I was able to work from home, I never had to worry about being on CERB or being on, you know, losing hours at work or being unsafe at work. Because again, I was an office worker who was able just to come home, so I was definitely very lucky. So then getting this job where I was seeing all these unemployed people trying to get jobs, and then never mind that the employers who are like we need people. Like we can't find people to come work for us, because CERB was more money than they were willing to pay. You know, and a lot of people were still not comfortable leaving their house, which no judgement to them it is a deadly virus. So just that really opened my eyes to see how how it really impacted people. Like how many people lost their jobs, how many people you know, and businesses, small businesses that if they didn't get our money, they flat out have said to us, we would not have survived, you know, the next the next year. So that whole side of it was completely opened to my eyes that how much, like- because you hear on the news the economy's suffering, you hear in the news, people, you know, people can't work. But until I was actually in a position at my job, where I was seening names and ages and what people were doing that they couldn't, you know, work like that really opened my eye. Did I answer that question? Haha.
Bailea Jackson 12:06
Yes, you have. I think that's a very unique perspective about the economy, because you're right, you do hear about on the news, people talk about the economy, but you never really understand what that means at times.
Rebecca 12:19
Yeah, especially as someone who doesn't own a business who, you know, my my other stable- like, again, I'm super lucky. I want to emphasize, I know that I'm super lucky. But I had a stable paycheck, I had, you know, the pandemic did not change my financial situation. And I remember even my landlady was like, Hey, do you like are you good to pay rent still? It I was like, yeah, like, so as much as I heard on the news, it doesn't feel real- even with the pandemic, like I said, it didn't feel real until we had our first case here in Alberta. So it didn't feel real until I started seeing it firsthand how many businesses- especially restaurants. We had so many restaurants in our program that waitresses and stuff, waiters, didn't feel comfortable, like quit, they kept leaving, because again, waitressing doesn't make a lot. So they were getting more money on CERB and restaurants with the back and forth have been open and unopened. And rules and QR codes and that kind of stuff. They were so unstable. So we had so many in our program trying to get extra money because they couldn't float like they couldn't.
Bailea Jackson 13:25
How do you plan a business when things keep changing?
Rebecca 13:28
Well, especially something like a restaurant you order food for 30 people to show up. You know, and then you can't get anyone to come work because they're scared- not scared, I don't like using that word- conscious of the virus. And, you know, what do you do? How do you- that's your livelihood. So I did, I was very thankful and I'm still in this position at work, where I do get to see firsthand how much bit of extra money you know could help these people. And it did really, it was really fascinating to see just outside my bubble how much it was impacting other other people.
Bailea Jackson 14:06
Yeah, okay. Okay, great. And so my next question for you then, is how has the pandemic changed or challenged relationships in Alberta? This is another one of those general questions. So as Albertans in the province, how do you think the pandemic has challenged or changed relationships?
Rebecca 14:30
I live quite close to the Ledge grounds. So when I'd go on my very exciting daily walks, I could hear kind of the goings on of the Ledge grounds. I remember for so long there was the Anti-Mask protests and the and right now with the truckers who have thankfully stopped honking. Regardless of your political view, it was the honking that was the annoying bit. So I could see kind of firsthand the protests that were happening. Just because I live so close and even, like the Black Lives Matter protests, and there's been a few Indigenous protests with the residential schools and stuff. So I kind of have a first hand eye, a bird's eye view of the protests and stuff happening throughout Edmonton, because that's kind of where the, the, the protests kind of always ended up at the Ledge grounds, right? So I think this pandemic has really given an opportunity for people to challenge their views and kind of pick sides on issues that maybe wouldn't have come up as prominently. Because with everyone sitting at home and everybody bored, you know, it kind of became a place where people can manifest problems and ideas and stuff in their minds, and then they would act on it, right? So especially, and then, like the Anti-Mask protests, like, when would we have ever had those before the pandemic? So I think it really gave a space for people to challenge, you know, pick up, I don't- like, kind of pick sides, but kind of separate those who, like, the science and the vaccines and those who believe in their bodies rights and their anti-vax, and all that kind of stuff. And even I was having a conversation this week with two friends, and one of them, she was an anti-vaxxer at the start, because she she has a bit of medical history where medication has really done her bad. So she didn't want to put something in her body she didn't know what it was. So fair, fair enough everyone has thier own opinion. But my other friend and I were pretty pro-vax. So we are having a very healthy discussion about it. And we got onto the topic of like, could we date someone who was at like, the opposite of us? And my one friend was saying that she can never be with a guy because she's so pro-vax. So she was married to a guy and they had kids, if he didn't want to vaccinate them, that would be a huge red flag for her. And she said, which is really weird, because before the pandemic, she would have never thought to ask, you know, how are you on vaccinations? Would you be willing to vaccinate? And my one friend who's an anti-vaxxer, she got vaccinated eventually, and she said that this whole thing has made her on the fence of all vaccines. So she said, when she has kids, there's a chance she just might not vaccinate them. And then we got into the discussion was like, would we let our kids play with each other? And like, it was just a whole discussion that, you know, three years ago we would have never sat there and be like, Oh, are you going to vaccinate your kid against rubella? Like, how do you feel about that? So I just feel like it really gave, I don't know, I think concrete topics with opposite ends that people were able to latch on to, that has maybe never happened much before.
Bailea Jackson 17:58
Yeah. And you mentioned that one friend, but has there been any other moments or experiences where you specifically in your life, have found that those relationships have been challenged or changed because of the pandemic?
Rebecca 18:17
I'd say that was the one friend where there was moments where it's like, okay, can I be fr- like she was, so anti views, different views as I. So that one got challenged- because she wanted to hang out and stuff. And she'd be posting pictures that she's hanging out with all these people, and I'm like, Well, you're not following the COVID rules. So I don't know if I feel safe. And this is a friend I've had for 15 years. So that was kind of the biggest one I think were COVID wise, that was the biggest challenger. I definitely have had, like, my friend who I mentioned earlier who was pregnant, at the start of the pandemic, she got very, very, very COVID conscious. To the part where I'd almost say paranoid. But for good reason she was pregnant then she had a new baby. So that one was a bit hard- a challenge because we would hang out quite a bit. And then she had a baby, and she's one of my good friends. And I have- I've seen the baby twice, I think. The baby's almost two. Because I all had to be from, you know, the six feet and like I again, I don't blame her. She wanted her family to be safe. So that kind of added a wrench. Now we mostly just talk like text, which is fine. So I think there's a lot of that were those like, I got pretty lucky because most of my friends we had kind of an understanding of what we were comfortable with what we weren't. And they're pretty compatible. Like there are certain times in the year, when was it July 2021, I think where we had no masks for a bit there? So there was like that time where people were more comfortable to hang out. We're able to get that in, and then as soon as the lockdown hit, it was like, Okay, no, like we can't. So I think I've been pretty lucky that most of my relationships, besides the acquaintance like the small acquaintances I mentioned, have been pretty good I'd say. Yeah, but I've been pretty lucky, so.
Bailea Jackson 20:17
Great. In keeping up with COVID, updates internationally, nationally, and provincially, what resources do you trust to give you the information that you need?
Rebecca 20:31
I remember at the very start, I was addicted to the John Hopkins Worldwide COVID Case Counter. And I would check, like, religiously. And I would do math and like, figure out if the percentages percentages of cases were going down. And like when I thought it was going to be over and like, and then I read somewhere that because it was an American website, they were fudging the numbers to make Trump look better. And I was like, Nope, haha. No more, none of this. And then I got to a point to where I had to stop being so obsessed with the numbers because it was doing me no good. Because I was watching the numbers go up and that was, you know, making me more paranoid. And then I started using the alberta.ca case counter, so the Government of Alberta's website. And that one I liked for a long time. And again, I had it on my phone, like as a tab opened every day and I just kind of look. Because that was at least regionally specific. And I could see, okay, Edmonton - I live in the city center, what are the cases like around me? And again, I trusted that one because it was directly related to the government and they're the ones who did all of the COVID tests. So I used that for a long time. And again, I think I just learned that the best was just not to know. So I stopped, like, I stopped looking at the news, I stopped, like, I know we had those 3pm updates from the government, and I did not, didn't watch them didn't care about them. So I would say, of all the ones I trusted, the Government of Alberta was one I used and trusted, but I definitely didn't seek out additional resources either.
Bailea Jackson 22:20
Okay. And the the resources that you did use that had connections to a government. Why did you feel that those ones were- I mean, you mentioned how they were connected to testing. But were there other reasons as to why you chose those as opposed to other sources?
Rebecca 22:47
I think for me, because I'm a numbers person, what I liked was the cases' numbers. How many cases did we get today? How many da da da. So that's why I used the direct one related to the testing because I wanted to see the numbers, I didn't want to see any of the interpretations, or I didn't even really want to know who was getting sick, which is bad, I know. But I need to set that like boundary of how much I'm going to let this pandemic get into my mental health and like, worry me. So that's kind of why I chose them. But again, I didn't really sit there thinking, okay, where, where am I going to get my news from? What am I going to do? So but I like the numbers, that's what I liked. That calmed me, the numbers for a bit there, when they're going down it calmed me. And then when they were going up, it did not, haha. It did not.
Bailea Jackson 23:38
Fair enough. Okay. There have been numerous protests and demonstrations at the Legislature like we've kind of talked about, also in downtown Calgary, and in Ottawa, as well as other places in the country since the pandemic has started, so I just want to know what your thoughts on how COVID has brought people together in this way. Like what- as people have come together, not just in Alberta, but all over the world because of the pandemic through demonstrations and protests, what are your thoughts generally on that?
Rebecca 24:13
Well, I think like I kind of touched on before, it did give an opportunity for people to find like minded people on extreme topics. So like, even with the truckers one - the most recent one - that was a lot of people that were, you know, blocking the streets and like, like I kind of said, the honking like the first week, they started honking at 10am and didn't stop until 8pm. So it was, what is that 10 hours of honking. And that's just a huge like, group, like, together, like- how do I want to phrase this. It just was a real unit kind of on the problem. A big unit came together and brought the, you know, to show how they dem- to protest the things they didn't like, you know? So I do think it brought people together in really strange ways, this pandemic. Because it did, it gave the opportunity for the two extremes to be so visible, that people could figure out what side they believed. And then it gave an opportunity with the amount of protests to go together with those people and show, you know what their beliefs were. So I think it did bring people together in a weird, weird way. I think people too are starving for socialization, and you know, you, like, togetherness, you're at home the whole time alone. So to be able to go out with 1000s of like minded people, like it kind of gave that outlet to. Whereas before we didn't have anything open, no bars, no concerts, nowhere we could have that where big group of people were there for the same reason. So it kind of gave that outlet as well.
Bailea Jackson 26:00
Okay, so it almost sounds like the topic that they were protesting was only a part of it. The being together was-
Rebecca 26:10
I mean, the topics who chose like, was what chose who was there. But I do think, to some extent, a lot of it was to be in a group again, you know, to have that togetherness. Togetherness that people were starving for. Because before we'd go to a hockey game, you know, you're there with 10,000 Oilers fans. We hadn't had that in a long time. So I think was the Black Lives Matter ones that came first?
Bailea Jackson 26:40
That was very beginning of the pendant.
Rebecca 26:42
Yeah. And that was a huge, like, huge one. And I think that was just people were there to support their cause. And obviously, it was a very important cause. But I think it also got people, you know, almost a sense of normality to be in big group of people. Obviously, I did not want that to be the reason people got like, this reason for the Black Lives Matter. That was very horrible thing to have happened, and I would rather it hadn't, but I think it gave that togetherness outlet as well.
Bailea Jackson 27:11
Yeah. Okay. So how might someone living outside of Alberta perceive Albertans during the pandemic?
Rebecca 27:21
I mean, as a province, we didn't do the greatest in the sense of following COVID rules. And I think there was a while there, summer of 2021, or maybe winter 21, where we had the highest cases in the world? Which is not our proudest moment. So I think that we kind of almost get lumped in with the Texas, and the Florida of the states. So I'd say as a province, we probably didn't do our best. So I don't know if we have necessarily a nice big gold star on our provinces name right now. Which is kind of sad. But we did have a bit of back and forth, you know, from the government, from the people, from the- so we did have the oper- the almost the opportunity for failure. Like we were, I don't think we were set up as well as we could have been. So it's not really I don't think our fault. But I don't think we're the best shiny example of how to get through a pandemic, either. So.
Bailea Jackson 28:29
Okay, so then, how does that perception affect how you see yourself as an Albertan?
Rebecca 28:36
I will admit, I have looked at jobs in BC this week. So I do think I'm less proud to be an Albertan. But I think, I don't know if that's necessarily because of how we dealt with the pandemic, like, from the start. I think it was kind of the last few months that really did did me in here, especially with the now we have no COVID rules. And I feel the no COVID rules are more to do with the political side of things versus the medical side of things. And someone who- like I have two science degrees, so I'm very pro the science side of it. And I don't like that we got rid of our restrictions and our safety nets because of the political side of it. So I think I'm more upset with how things have been handled in the past six months, in the full two years, because at the beginning, no one knew what they were doing. No, no country, no government knew what they were doing. And I think some have evolved to be great like New Zealand, and some, you know, again, Texas, Florida, not so much. I think we kind of fall closer to the bad end.
Bailea Jackson 29:50
Gotcha. Yeah, okay. What were your thoughts when you first heard about a vaccine for COVID?
Rebecca 30:01
I was really excited. Again, being pro science, like it because I have a biology degree, my undergrads biology, so I understood the science behind it. So I had no registered- reservations. Because I understood the science. I completely understand why people are hesitant because it did seem that a vaccine was happening really fast. But the vaccine, it was already kind of figured out, it was just like- I like to think of it as it's a, it's a pepperoni pizza. Before we already had what a ham pizza, so we just had to invent the like last part of it to make it a pepperoni pizza. Like that's how the vaccine was done. We already had the COVID or like the shot for the flu, the shot for, you know, other strains of this. We just had to make it ready for COVID-19. So I was really excited for it. I remember when I got mine, I was sitting there and I was just so excited. The guy's like, are you okay? Are you scared of needles? And I'm like, No, I'm just really excited. I'm just excited. So I was super excited. And it did feel like a change in how it was going. Because before it felt like we were all super unprotected. And then now all of a sudden, there's like that beacon of, you know, joy, maybe not joy beacon of- the light at the end of the tunnel. So like my grandparents got it first. My parents got it first. So I was just- it was just an exciting moment, I found.
Bailea Jackson 31:31
Yeah. Nice. So my my next question is, since you said that you are vaccinated. What was the process like? How did you get your vaccination? Where did you go? How did you feel after?
Rebecca 31:44
I cheated the system. And I booked my first shot the day before I was supposed to, because they said, you know, whatever age group could start booking whatever day and I booked the day before, but for time that was in the Okay, period. And I actually felt really guilty about that. But I also I couldn't, had I waited the day I probably could have gotten in sooner. So I was like, it's okay. Haha. It's fine. So I went to like a random pharmacy for my first one on the north side because one of my co workers is like, Hey, we got in here, and I was like cool me too. Like, didn't even think about it. I don't even think I use the AHS website. I just booked the first thing I could. It was through the pharmacy, they had their own booking service. And then the second one, I went to the the Edmonton Expo Center, which that was a weird thing because felt like we were almost like cattle being herded. You know, it's so efficient, but it was like we had to go here, here, here here. Boom, done. Sit, done. Cool. And I was like, okay, they- this was a weird experience because before the pharmacy, I just sat down like any shot you get at a pharmacy. And then my booster shot I got at the pharmacy by my house because I finally learned I didn't have to drive to go get the shot. I could walk half a block and get it done there. So yeah, so.
Bailea Jackson 33:12
You said you had your booster so you have three?
Rebecca 33:15
Yeah.
Bailea Jackson 33:15
All three? Nice. And how did you feel after each one?
Rebecca 33:19
My, the first one I got quite sick but in the night, like I remember because I got it in the morning I was fine all day and then I was exhausted. So I was like Okay, let's go to bed early. And then I woke up at 2am, and I remember I was thirsty or something. So I came out of my bedroom and I it felt like I was on a ship like I couldn't walk and then I was getting nauseous because I was so dizzy. So I just sat and watched TV all day and that was great. The second one I got and I purposely booked it for the day of my, where my period is really bad so I'm like I'll just double whammy, double whammy it. And that day I did not leave the couch because I was just exhausted. But I couldn't tell you what symptoms were which one what was from, haha. Because like I was sick one day, you know? Very bad and then the booster I got sick for like three days to the point where I actually thought I had COVID. And I even went and got tested and it wasn't, but then I got COVID afterwardes, but it was within the time the booster shot was work- like because I think has to be two weeks before it's effective. So I got COVID right in those two weeks. So again that one I couldn't really tell where I was sick and where where the shots were but.
Bailea Jackson 34:41
And so having COVID after the vaccines, can you just give like a general description of what COVID- having COVID was like?
Rebecca 34:53
It was, it was interesting because for me, I it like I was sick for about a week I think. And I remember because I was the sun- Saturday night, I had had some wine and then I started to feel sick. And I was like, Okay, I guess I just can't drink. You know, I've don't drink much anymore. And then I woke up and I had a text message my dad being like, do you wanna go snowshoeing today? And I was just like, No. Like it was that immediate. Like, no, and then I was like, I'm not okay. And then it kind of got worse for a few days, and then, but it's just like, for me, it was like my throat like, I couldn't cough. Do you ever have that where it's not? You cough but it's in your neck, not your throat so you don't get anything from the cough?
Bailea Jackson 35:40
Like the tickle is in your-
Rebecca 35:42
You have to cough but when you cough, it just hurts because nothing happens. Like I had that, like, I just couldn't- I remember one day I couldn't even stand like I was just so weak. But I was pretty lucky because I got to about 90% okay in about four days. So it was two days where I was really, really sick. And then it kind of got better pretty fast. And I do think that is because I had that booster. Like I think the booster kicked in while I was sick, and then it kinda, because it was pretty fast I went from very bad to about 90% okay. And then I'd say the last 10% took like, three weeks.
Bailea Jackson 36:25
Oh, really?
Rebecca 36:26
Yeah. Because I was just like, I couldn't, I had no energy. My stamina was gone. Like I'd work out and just like couldn't- not breathe, but, like, my lungs couldn't handle it. Like I almost had to rebuild my lung capacity. But while I had COVID I was able to breathe fine. I was able to- I had no, I had no scares where I had to go to hospital. Like I was just sick. And that was bad, like, I'm not gonna say it was not terrible, like it was pretty bad. But I was very lucky in the sense that, you know, I was I felt comfortable being home alone. Sitting here alone. I think I had no worries that I was going to, you know, need any extra care or anything so.
Bailea Jackson 37:10
And I know sometimes people talk about how they lose their sense of taste or smell. Did that happen?
Rebecca 37:15
No, thankfully, yeah. Yeah, I just felt like a bad flu more than anything. Like I was able to eat. Nothing really tastes like like, nothing tasted good. Like, there's nothing I was craving nothing I, you know, wanted, but I could eat and like, I was like, I had a lot of soup and stuff. But I was able to taste, I was able to smell. I think had I not come into close contact with someone who had COVID I probably would have just thought it was, you know, a flu. But it was worse than a flu so I probably would have-
Bailea Jackson 37:52
Like a really bad flu.
Rebecca 37:53
Yeah, but I did get tested, it was positive. So I knew I had it, which was a very scary feeling. Being- getting a text message being like you're COVID Positive. And I'm like, Oh, I have the thing that has shut down the world for the past two years. So that was a weird mental moment to.
Bailea Jackson 38:10
Yeah, especially after you had before been following all of those numbers. Yeah. Yeah, I can, I can get that for sure. Okay, my very last question for you then, is what do you hope people in the future looking back on this global issue will keep in mind or remember?
Rebecca 38:30
I think something that people should maybe take away or remember from this is that sometimes you have to do things for the sake of the community, and not just for yourself. Because even wearing the masks, people are very anti. But it's like you're not wearing the mask for yourself. You're wearing them to keep everyone else safe. So I wish maybe we could learn from that. So if this happens again, maybe we can, you know, cut it down to six months instead of two years. And so I do think the sense of the well being of others should maybe, you know, be a be a takeaway from this, to follow the rules put out in place. But yeah, yeah, I guess that's my take away.
Bailea Jackson 39:19
Awesome. Well, thanks. I appreciate it.
Rebecca 39:21
No problem.
End.