Ellen DeGeneres is back!
After taking several weeks from her talk show because of rising COVID-19 cases in California, the 62-year-old host returned to the studio for first show of 2021, airing on Wednesday, January 13.
In her opening monologue, Ellen opened up about her battle with coronavirus.
“Obviously there are a lot of negative things going on, so instead I want to talk about something positive – my COVID test…it was positive,” Ellen started. “So yeah, I tested positive before the holidays and I’m fine now, I’m all good, I’m all clear.”
“I want to thank everyone who reach out with kind words of support,” Ellen continued. “I wish I could have hugged each and everyone one of ya, but that’s dangerous and illegal, probably.”
Ellen then went on to recall the moment she found out she tested positive.
“I was inn hair and makeup, getting my face powdered and my extensions put in, and my assistant Craig walked in and said, ‘You tested positive for COVID,’” Ellen recalled. “And then everyone around me ran away.”
“So I left the studio immediately and our COVID safety team had informed everyone that I had contact with,” Ellen continued.
Ellen then detailed her experience with COVID.
“For the first three days, I slept like 16 hours a day. And then on the fourth day, I woke up with back spasms, and I thought I had pulled a muscle or had slept weird because I was in a different bed,” Ellen shared. “But it just persisted, and the doctor put me on pain pills and muscle relaxers. Jackpot! Finally this thing is paying off. So anyway, the pain pills did not work, and my back got worse. It felt like I had cracked a rib…you know how I make you feel when you laugh so hard your ribs hurt? That’s how it felt – I finally understand how you feel.”
“Anyway, they put me on a steroid pack because the other stuff was not working,” she continued. “The steroid pack worked, but here’s the thing about steroids: they make you feel really speedy and really edgy. So the best thing to do, I decided, was to stay on the muscle relaxers and pain pills, with the steroid pack to balance it out. I don’t know if that’s the best way, I’m not a doctor. But that’s what I did. I’ll ask Sunjay Gupta, he’s on later. I’m still on them. The muscle relaxers are helpful.”
After talking to other people, Ellen found out that back pain is a symptom of COVID, and that was the only symptom she had throughout her battle.
“I started to feel better, and I’m very fortunate, and very, very blessed that that was it for me,” Ellen concluded. “The weird thing is, I don’t know where I got it. I still don’t know where I got it. I wear a mask, I wash my hands, I only lick three or hour door handles – so it’s a mystery how that would happen.”
