A tough journey. Jason Tartick and Kaitlyn Bristowe are battling the coronavirus together, but they are experiencing very different symptoms. While the former Bachelorette, 35, has been open about losing her sense of taste and smell, her boyfriend, 32, has been dealing with horrible pain and a high fever.
“For five days, I had a fever and then day six, seven and eight, I literally felt great — just little low energy, little taste/smell issue, nothing. And then out of nowhere, the middle of the night [on Wednesday, December 30], I woke up and the two lymph nodes in my groin were in so much pain, I couldn’t walk,” Tartick revealed exclusively to Us Weekly. “At 4 in the morning, Kaitlyn had to give me ice.”
![Jason Tartick Experienced Intense PainHis Lymph Nodes During COVID-19](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jason-Tartick-Experienced-Intense-Pain-His-Lymph-Nodes-During-COVID-19-001.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all)
The Bachelorette alum then explained that he called doctor friends and asked questions.
“They were saying the swollen lymph nodes like that — even way out, even into day nine — can happen,” Tartick told Us. “And I’m literally just sitting there with two ice packs on my groin trying to fall asleep.”
The Dancing With the Stars winner then added that while neither she nor Tartick have had any trouble breathing, she considered taking him to the hospital when his fever hit 103 degrees. Luckily, they’ve been leaning on their friends who work in the medical field.
“Kaitlyn and I are like, ‘Do we go in the hospital right now?’ Like with my groin going, ‘What is this?’ So having those resources [is nice]. But one of the things they had told us is to get these oxygen monitors. They’re like anywhere from $15 to $30 on Amazon. You put it on your finger. They’ll tell you the blood oxygen level in your bloodstream,” the Washington native explained. “That is very objective, right? So even if you have anxiety, your heart’s racing, that number is not changing. It’s strictly objective. So that’s been helpful to put us at ease a little bit, too.”
![Jason Tartick Experienced Intense PainHis Lymph Nodes During COVID-19](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jason-Tartick-Experienced-Intense-Pain-His-Lymph-Nodes-During-COVID-19-004.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all)
Bristowe previously opened up about her anxiety during her COVID-19 battle, explaining via Instagram Stories that it’s really easy to get down.
“I feel a little bit depressed and, like, super anxious and scared,” the “Off the Vine” podcast host shared on December 28. “I’m worried if, like, what if my smell and taste never come back? Then I get scared, like, what if tomorrow, I wake up, and I can’t breathe? What if the next day, I’m, like, not OK? I’m doing all these what ifs and I’m spiraling, and I feel really, really anxious today. I hate when things are unpredictable, and COVID is definitely unpredictable.”
With reporting by Diana Cooper