My COVID Case Financials

On December 6^th I tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms over the weekend. As of today (December 16^th) I am 3 days out from having a fever and still experiencing effects from the virus. Since I got so sick with COVID and needed to isolate, my financials had to change to accommodate my illness. I’m going to put all the gory details in my next article, in case you’re interested in my experience with COVID as a fully vaccinated young adult. In short:

• it sucked so bad
• “mild” means it was mild FOR COVID, NOT mild in general
• as a society, we are still not running smoothly in dealing with coronavirus

Since I obviously was in no state to work, I had a lot of time to reflect on things and take all the rest I needed. Not only did I have the budget and cash in place to buy what I needed, I also have team leaders at work who actually want me to focus on my health. Both of those factors helped in keeping me at home and prioritizing rest over all else. Otherwise, my body would have taken longer to fight off this sickness.

Direct COVID Expenses

Here’s everything I’ve spent money on since December 5^th that was related to COVID:

• At-home COVID test – $23.99 from CVS, because getting a free test was too inconvenient (appointments, and long lines despite the appointments, were the issue). Got me a very confident positive result 10 minutes after swabbing my nose.
• Gas to go to infusion popup clinic – $6, roughly speaking (35-minute drive there and back). Had gas in the tank so didn’t need to go pump.
• Instacart grocery deliveries – $106.73 for 2 different grocery drop-offs. Lots of soups, crackers, and juices in both orders.

I’m surprised at myself for not ordering takeout deliveries, but then again I was too sick to do much about food other than use the microwave. Thinking about what to order would’ve been too taxing.

It’s important to also note my time expenses, as tons of Millennials and Gen Zers don’t have much of it in between work and worrying about the future.

Here are those expenses on my time:

• Had 5 separate calls to and from my doctors office; at least 3 of those calls were me on hold for 5-15 minutes.
• Called or texted everyone I’d been in close contact with over the last 2 weeks: my immediate team members, the office manager, the host of a 5 person party, the host for Thanksgiving, and the library (I was tucked away in a corner for a couple of hours before I got the test, which was stupid in hindsight).
• Abrupt absence from work December 7^th-13^th. I was back a little bit on the 14^th and 15^th. If I was working an hourly position, that is a lot of paycheck I’d be missing out on.
• Cancelled plans; I was supposed to meet with a friend for a dinner that Friday so that’s no longer an option. I was also supposed to go to a company holiday party in NYC so cancelled my train ticket and hotel. Speaking of which…
• Missed the two holiday parties my company hosted, one in Boston and one in NYC. I was invited to both and planned to be at both, mostly to please the executive team. Looking back, I don’t like how I felt nervous not showing up would negatively affect me.
• Sick days. While I believe my direct team genuinely cares about my well-being, I am also very aware we live in a corporate-influenced society that frowns on getting too sick to work (or just setting boundaries to do so).
• Isolating in general. I had tons of ways to pass the time (books! Puzzles! Video games! Netflix! Baths! Sleep! And so much more!) so I don’t consider this an expense to me. I am also a huge introvert, though, so my tolerance for isolation is much higher than it is for others.

What I Got for Free

Another big help towards a quicker recovery? My community. This encompasses my network of friends, my aforementioned lovely coworkers, and state officials putting responsible policies in place. Thanks to all of them, I was the recipient of some incredible assistance when I needed it:

• The infusion treatment. Completely free to residents of Massachusetts who qualify, regardless of immigration status. I know it’s cheaper for the state to give you this treatment instead of giving you a hospital bed, but it still costs the state thousands of dollars. (I’ll rant about the American healthcare system another time.)
• Phone consultations with my doctors office. The office nurse did all the leg work in lieu of my doctor, which I am grateful for.
• Friend and coworkers have offered their help if I needed anything, which touched me. If I wanted to save myself the delivery fee I could’ve hit them up to run me groceries or medication.
• My neighbor actually dropped off four meals’ worth of chicken noodle soup for me when I was running low <3

The less tangible, but no more important “free” boons that helped me were:

• Not having to work through an illness
• Living in a comfortable place where I can rest and recover without stress/distraction 
• Owning a car, the easiest/least infectious form of transportation 
• Near-zero stress or anxiety over missed time or direct COVID-incurred expenses

How My Work Arrangement Influences My Recovery

I’m going to reiterate here how my work situation directly impacted how much money I’d lose by being at home sick (that’s going to be a theme). Because I’m salaried, I can take sick days that will be paid. Because my direct supervisors are deliberately lax about sick days, I could’ve taken more time off than the company handbook says I could. If I was working hourly, that would be a significant amount of money I’m missing. I’m on salary, AND have a decent sick day policy at work, AND work for a healthtech place that wants zero bad press around employee health. All are variables working in my favor.

The only possible work-wise negative I may have to deal with is going to come from disappointing higher-ups at the company. They’re really pushing for folks to begin coming into the office again at least 3 days a week. Why? Because the CEO says he “feels face-to-face interaction is important”.

(That’s a direct quote, by the way, from an all-company meeting. It’s recorded, so I re-listened to it and… that’s literally the only justification given.)

We were supposed to start this policy months ago until the Delta variant news spooked them enough to relent. I can’t go into the office while isolating. I wasn’t at either of the two holiday parties when I previously said I would be. If they are this focused on bringing folks back, I do not think they will look at my physical absence in a neutral or positive light. At least one very junior person has already come into the office sick because they were worried not doing so would reflect negatively, even though THEY ARE SICK DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

And this is one of the better working arrangements out there.

Being Mercenary

I was in a position to focus on resting, drink plenty of fluids, and give my body the space and energy to fight this disease. The reason I’m in that position in the first place is because I took advantage of the privileges available to me, while being a bit mercenary as I did so.

Specifically, I hacked the system to get me a cushy, high-paying job with good benefits to boot. This didn’t translate to the work I had dreamed of as a child, which was a trade-off I made for the sake of wealth-building and stability.

In an ideal world, I would be bagging a six-figure salary as a writer, or by being a nonprofit advocate for environmental conservation, education, and the rights of the child. And yes, chasing your dreams fully can work out to make you wildly financially successful. But, starting out in my career, I did not have much of a safety net if I was not wildly successful.

There was no community to fall back on. No family that makes me feel wanted or safe. The government-provided safety nets are constantly under attack so I still don’t feel comfortable counting on them. Instead, I’m temporary prioritizing making money instead of full-time dream chasing. I’d classify that as being a bit mercenary in my career choices and I am content with that. Otherwise, I’m not sure if I would have the ready help so available to me. I definitely wouldn’t have the direct supervisors in my life, who make a huge difference. I chose my battles with potential future problems in mind; while I never thought to add “contracting a disease that’s killed millions of people” to that list, the planning put enough in place to leave me doing well.

Long-Term Effects

Now that I’m over the initial hump with my COVID bout, I’ll need to continue monitoring myself for any long-term complications. Long COVID was my main concern when I first tested positive. Back in March 2020 I was doing a lot of research around how COVID was going to impact the economy, with all of my predictions coming true save one. Doing this also led me to read up on the long-term effects for SARS. Why SARS? Because COVID, as it turns out, is so similar to SARS that the scientific moniker for coronavirus is SARS-CoV-2. We obviously have little research on what COVID is going do to the infected in the years to come. What we do have, instead, is decades’ worth of research on what SARS does.

Remember when that was a global threat 20-some years ago? I did. And I knew I’d be anal about disease prevention once I read the “Prognosis” section on the SARS Wikipedia page:

Several consequent reports from China on some recovered SARS patients showed severe long-time sequelae. The most typical diseases include, among other things, pulmonary fibrosis, osteoporosis, and femoral necrosis, which have led in some cases to the complete loss of working ability or even self-care ability of people who have recovered from SARS.

Mother fucking yikes.

This is why I was very upset about testing positive. Now, I’m obviously not a doctor or scientist, and shouldn’t be considered a valid teacher on infectious diseases. It might turn out that COVID won’t give me any lifelong issues. But do you know what? If it does, I’ll actually end up being more prepared than most, thanks to my nest egg being what it is.

If I end up with long COVID from this, I have the resources to draw on for further medical expenses. That in itself is wildly helpful at keeping my fears to a minimum. Even more assurance comes from just living in Massachusetts, which is ranked the #1 best state for healthcare. If there’s anywhere I’d want to be during a health crisis, it’s here. In the face of fear, that’s what gives me calm.

There’s been a lot of ugly societal issues COVID has made more apparent. These include crumbling workers’ rights, America’s corrupted healthcare system, the student loan debt crisis, and our political leaders vacillating between inaction and attacks on democracy. I’m hopeful that COVID will also have some silver linings in forcing deeply-needed improvements, as we’ve already seen for work/life balance. Thanks to my choices in who I work with, where I live, and – maybe most importantly – how I manage money, I can afford to be more optimistic in the face of such bleak news.

And even more optimistic once I get my booster. Keep those vaccines up-to-date and those masks over your nose, you crazy kids.

Cover image credit: Fusco Studio via Unsplash