There's no "manual" to getting COVID-19, Libby Kennedy says.

Holed up in her bedroom on Vancouver Island, the 59-year-old writer decided to document her weekslong ordeal in delerious detail online.

“There is some microscopic battle going on,” Kennedy wrote in one entry of her roughly 7,300-word Reddit post.

“Like a mini epic 'Star Wars' full-out light sabre thing. Good versus evil.”

In a more lucid state, Kennedy explained that by posting her experiences on Reddit, she was hoping to demystify the disease that has upended everyone's lives.

“We're the pioneers for our own communities,” said Kennedy by phone from Yellow Point, a coastal hamlet near Nanaimo, B.C.

Kennedy, who has autoimmune issues and asthma, said she went shopping to stock up on pandemic supplies on March 11. While she couldn't find toilet paper, Kennedy believes she came home with the novel coronavirus.

Five days later, Kennedy said she was overcome by exhaustion. At first, she thought her allergies were acting up.

But it wasn't long before illness invaded every part of her body, with new symptoms hitting her in “waves.”

Her temperature spiked. Her head throbbed. Her muscles ached. She lost 10 pounds from vomiting and diahrrea. No amount of coughing could clear the lump lodged in her throat.

But worst of all was the shortness of breath, Kennedy recalled. Gasping for air, Kennedy said she felt the terror of losing oxygen on a chemical level.

March 28 was Kennedy's “hell day.” She called up 811, and in one-word sentences, told a nurse she couldn't breathe.

Before she left for the emergency room, Kennedy wrote letters to her 19-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter. She told them to worship their bodies and look out for their friends and each other.

By the time she reached the hospital, her condition had improved. She said doctors examined her and diagnosed her with COVID-19, and told her to get tested for confirmation.

Given the limited supply of testing kits, Kennedy said she didn't need a swab to tell her what she already knew.

About a month since this all started, she said she still feels the sickness rippling through her body.

She mused that maybe the virus has changed her “biologically.” Perhaps it increased her IQ, or retuned her singing voice, she joked.

“You pay that much, you'd think you get a gift back.”

But there was one reward.

Venturing outside for the first time in weeks, Kennedy felt a new appreciation for the simple serenity of a creek running through the forest underneath a clear blue sky.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2020.