MPNnow Collette Bates, a retired firefighter paramedic, thought she was coming down with a cold back in April, but when she spiked a fever and her body began to ache all over she suspected it was COVID-19. She was right. A registered nurse working from home for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Bates suffered other COVID symptoms as well: A dulled sense of taste and smell, body aches so intense she could hardly move, and a dry cough so fierce she developed a hernia. Bates, who lives in Fairport, recovered. But she didn’t get off unscathed. The virus left her with a number of ailments affecting her thyroid, her vision and possibly her kidneys. She is still prone to headaches like the ones she had during COVID.