Disclaimer: This article was written during the 4 AM witching hour, under the haze of a 102.4°F fever, with a cough that sounds like a broken lawnmower and a brain that has been replaced by static. The following is not medical advice. It is a survival diary.
I stare at the cursor blinking on the screen. It is a heartbeat. Still here. Still here. Still here. I’ll likely read this tomorrow—or whenever the "tomorrow" is where the fever breaks—and find it nonsensical. But right now, in the stillness of a house that feels too big and a body that feels too small, these words are my only anchor.
For the first few days of COVID, you fight the symptoms with warrior logic. Hydrate. Medicate. Sleep it off. But by the fourth night—or is it the fifth? Time has dissolved into a slurry of bad TV and half-empty cough syrup bottles—your body rebels against the concept of rest. i wrote this at 4am sick with covid
Please go ahead and share your 4am writing, and I'll get started on turning it into an essay for you!
Write these down on your phone. Not because you need to, but because at 4am it feels productive. I Wrote This at 4 AM Sick With
Drink up: Aim for about 3 liters (roughly 13 cups) of fluid daily.
But for now? I'm going to hit "publish" and pass out face-first into my blue-stained pillowcase. The 4am COVID Monologue Fever, Fingers, Keyboard Notes
3. Don't over-edit the voice. The best 4am writing has a loose, associative rhythm. Clean up typos and broken sentences, but preserve the feel of someone thinking out loud when their guard is down.