Catching COVID 19 after typhoon Odette

It’s day five (going day 6) of my isolation. I tested positive on my antigen COVID test midnight, January 16, Sunday. On the wee hours on Thursday, I felt my feet and hands are very cold and my throat very sore. I thought it was just postnasal drip or I haven’t gargled as I ate chocolate last Wednesday night. I woke up and drank some water and doubled up my blanket and drank cetirizine as I thought it would just be my allergies.

On the second day, I felt my body was so tired that I just slept all day. I thought nothing about it as it might be just the effects of cetirizine. My left nasal sinus was aching, and my throat was so itchy and sore. I drank some citron tea with Soluflem and Sinupret. I also did some steam inhalation for my sinuses as it usually relieves and clears it, as my nasal spray for my sinuses is out of sight. I don’t know where I put it as I had cleaned the house after Odette’s (typhoon) mess. I also thought maybe it’s just because I did not have good sleep for the past two days. Tuesday, I did not have a good sleep because we had a black out as VECO is still undergoing repairs and on at dawn on Wednesday MCWD was doing repairs also on the pipe in front of our house. Even with my thoughts that I was just undergoing some allergies and sinusitis, I isolated and wore mask even inside the house just to be safe.

On the third day, usually when I drink my medications, my sinuses would have cleared up by then if it was indeed my sinuses, but it didn’t, I had the sniffles and the bizarre thing was only the left side of my nose was congested but I am glad it’s just the one side though. My sore throat was consistent that it feels like nails are scratching into it. I had to drink lots of water for relief. I thought it was a bad case of tonsilitis as my tonsils are kind of inflamed. I still drank my vitamins (C, D, E, Coq10, Glutathione, Zinc), my maintenance meds for my heart, my meds for my symptoms (Soluflem, Sinupret, Cetirizine). Also, had steam inhalation and gargled warm water with some salt for my sore throat. I also called the doctor and he gave me azithro.

I felt a lot better than on Thursday, I cleaned my home office and did some minor clean ups. As I was approaching the 4th day, I decided to test at midnight as my husband is coming home from Mindanao just to be safe. When I tested, it was positive. I tested again it was still positive. So, I got all my medications and locked myself in a room with a bathroom on it, so I don’t have to go out.

On day 4, I am locked up in my room thinking of things to do. There’s still no internet in our house. I am just using my DITO sim. Thanking God that at least the water and electricity is now working while I quarantine. I also have a back up electric fan with me in case for brown outs.

So now on Day 5, I had better sleep last night. I only have small bouts of dry cough, no more runny (left side) nose but there is still some congestion and some body aches especially on my breathing accessory muscles (maybe from the dry cough). Also, my spO2 is in great numbers. Hoping for my speedy and uneventful recovery.

So mask up! Get Vaccinated and get Boosted!

Funny thing though, I always mask up. I even do double mask and tape my mask as to prevent fogging to my glasses. I also got vaccinated and I asked for the booster schedule, but it was not up yet. The irony is when I got positive the schedule is posted. Oh well! Just be safe everyone and pray to God and have faith and get the positive things in life.

What made me start in Freelance Transcription

What made me start in Freelance Transcription was, when I was fresh out of college of Physical Therapy, a course I graduated in did not have a lot of opportunities. I needed some money to pursue it. I tried to volunteer at hospitals but there was no pay and then I came across an ad that was looking for Medical Transcriptionists, so I tried to apply for it and got the job.

I worked there for 6 months; we were to pioneer Medical Transcription in their company. We were trained in typing using typing test, transcription with Express Scribe software and editing. We would do typing tests and transcription with different audios from doctors. At that time, transcription was still starting here in the Philippines, there were only a few articles, certifications and trainings like what Filipino Virtual Assistance is doing right now. Unfortunately, the project fell through but I have learned a lot from the six months working with them which led me to be hired on my second job.

In my second job, I worked as a General Transcriptionist but I also had my regular assignments which is transcribing medical reports. When I am done with my regular clients I would work on other projects. With my second job I sharpened my skills as it was not only Medical Transcription but I also worked in Legal and General Transcription. In addition, I worked with interviews, podcasts, videos (putting captions) and aside from that I was also given jobs in Data Entry. Here I also met my colleagues who turned out to be not just my co workers but became my close friends and family. With my skills and experience, some freelance companies tried to offer me part time work on projects which I can work from home. There was this one time, an employer was trying to test on my skills while I was at work (which by the way, I do not recommend as it made my heart race as you have to be weary of your boss and had to double my output with less time). Then from that time on, I accepted freelance transcription jobs which I did after my full-time work. With my salary from my part time work, I saved up some money to pursue my physical therapy career and travel goals.

Freelance Transcription

Reaching my 4th year on my full-time job, I was offered an opportunity to pursue my Physical Therapy career, I resigned from my full time job and did my part time online jobs while pursuing my Physical Therapy career.

My freelancing job supported me when I was trying to transition my career to concentrate on Physical Therapy. Freelancing gave me flexibility in my working hours. I can do my studying in certain hours and in some hours did my freelance transcription works. It also helped me to develop skills like: time management , multi tasking and project management. Freelancing also gave me financial stability while I was transitioning in my career and it helped me mold to become a better person which I can also apply on my offline world.

I had been working offline with my Physical Therapy career for almost 10 years and managed my businesses (M & P Commercial Spaces and M & P Express Payment Center) for almost 3 years. With the skills I acquired from my past jobs I managed to do my own Social Media Campaign, Data Entry, Facebook page and Admin Support works with ease.

Now, as people are scrambling to find jobs and do work from home with this pandemic, I am trying to sharpen and upgrade my skills as technology is evolving, I am now enrolled on a Freelancing Course at Filipino Virtual Assistance, which really helped me in being up to date with the new techniques and technologies.

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