In September, my mom and I contracted with COVID-19. It was kind of a shock to us even though we know it can be easily spread. When we both had it, it really wasn't bad for us. I know some people that have had it way worse than we did, and I really feel for those people. We did quarantine and did not go anywhere or see anyone for the amount of time that we were told. We definitely did not want to spread this virus even more.

Neither one of us really got sick or had a ton of symptoms. At first, we just had allergy symptoms because we really thought that's what it was. After that went away, the only symptom we had was the lack of smell.

At the end of our quarantine, we talked to the health department on the phone because they had to ask us so many questions: who we may have been around, in close proximity to, whether we went to school or work. My mom asked the health department how long it would take for us to get our sense of smell back. The lady said that it could take up to a month to fully get it back.

Once we found that out, we accepted it. It really had only been a couple of weeks. Once the one-month mark hit I still couldn't really smell anything. Now at this point in time, it's been two months and I still can't smell. I won't say I can't smell anything because I can smell some very strong candles, but that's about it. I can't even smell my cat's litterbox anymore when I'd usually be able to.

I do not know when I will get my smell back or if I ever will, but I feel like this just really proves we do not know much about COVID and the effects it has on people is really different for everyone. I feel it's important to mention that I don't have the virus anymore, just this side effect.