“We always joke in the shop that the grease and fuel keep us from getting COVID” was a line I always heard from my boyfriend and Lake Land alumni, Gage Sattler. However, it turns out that being a mechanic and inhaling the smell of oil all day is not a way to prevent COVID. Actually, he is the only one in his household who caught the virus, funny enough. For those who have not had the virus, we never truly know what the effects can be and how life in a two-week quarantine feels like. Gage was kind enough to detail what his experience was for us, and what he experiences post-virus due to being down with the sickness. 

“I never really had any symptoms,” he said, after being asked about why he got tested. “The only reason I even got tested was because I came into close contact with someone who tested positive after I had been around them.” Gage went on to say that although he had not felt anything that could have tipped him off to the fact he had COVID, he wanted to protect those he worked with. “I knew some of my coworkers had family who were compromised and considered high risk, and I did not want to take the chance of possibly passing on that virus by not getting tested.” A couple of days later, he was surprised to find out that he had picked up the virus. As previously mentioned, he had no symptoms whatsoever. 

Typically, a person with COVID-19 will experience a fever, chills, body aches, just to name a few. For Gage, nothing developed even over the two weeks he spent at home. “I expected to get some symptoms over time. I expected at least to be tired or to have normal flu-like symptoms. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to endure any of that, and grateful for it too.” Gage knows how the virus can affect some and obviously knew how contagious it could be. Thankfully, none of the family that he lives with caught the virus from him. “I live with my cousin and share a room with him. He stayed home and quarantined with me for the two weeks since we are always pretty close quarters, and he never tested positive for the virus.” he mentioned. 

So what does a young, 20 something boy do when stuck at home? “Lots of Call of Duty. Way too much Call of Duty. Either that or working on the El Camino that I have, along with sleeping in until noon. It was a pretty unproductive two weeks.” Gage joked. He hated every minute of being at home. Usually a pretty active young man, staying at home instead of working during the week as usual was a bummer. Gage detailed what he felt as he spent his days at home. “I feel lazy when I just hang out and do nothing. I have to be doing something with my hands, and something that makes me feel accomplished. As much as I like playing COD, it just was not enough to keep me entertained” On top of that, he missed the other aspects of his daily life. “I would visit my friends, and my girlfriend, a couple times a week before I had the virus. I wanted to hang out with them and socialize, and it sucked knowing I couldn’t do that, especially on New Years, when you want to spend time and have a good time with those people.” At the same time, he missed seeing his family as well. Gage has always been close with everyone in his family, and usually sees everyone on Sundays after church. “It bummed me out. We are as tight of a family as you can get, and not getting to participate in my grandparent’s Sunday lunch when I wanted to sucked as well.”

However, quarantine did not last forever, and for Gage, it was good to get out. Following his stint with the virus, Gage got back to work and to the ins and outs of daily life. A lot of people experience symptoms of the virus even after it is gone. Many people have given accounts that their sense of smell and or taste never came back after the virus. “My taste never left and neither did my sense of smell. Sometimes I think that maybe some of my smell has left, but I’m not sure about it. Not enough where it affects me anyways.” Gage explained. However, he knows he is lucky to have had such a breeze with the virus. “I know a couple of people who had some pre-existing conditions and caught COVID, which made overcoming the virus rough. I also know of some who experienced pretty terrible symptoms afterwards, and so I’m pretty blessed to have been able to deal with it in such an easy way.”