Chapter Text
Karl just got back from filming a new Mr. Beast video. He got home and almost immediately started to feel like shit. Absolute shit. He doesn't know where this sick feeling came from, they were doing something small. The crew didn't travel anywhere outside of North Carolina but they did have some strangers in the video so maybe he picked something up from one of them or maybe even one of his friends who just happen to not being showing any symptoms.
He had a fever of 102°F, chills, a small cough, and he didn't feel like eating anything, not to mention the fact that he was having trouble breathing and chest pains. Chris told him to go to the doctor but, naturally, he was stubborn and refused.
Well this sucks.
He thought it was just allergies. It's definitely possible, he did live in North Carolina, it was end of spring, allergies hit hard there, so he was just going to sleep it off. But then again, what kind of allergies give someone a fever of 102°F and chest pains this bad?
This really sucks.
He decided that he would go to the doctor after thinking about it for close to half an hour. As much as he hates being wrong about not needing to go (especially to Chris who would tease him senseless for a week straight) he needs to go.
Karl set a mental reminder that he was going to go in the morning. Luckily, there's a place near him that takes walk-ins, so he didn't have to wait. After figuring at what he was going to do, he texted the group chat that had the rest of the Mr. Beast crew in it to let them know that he couldn't make it tomorrow due to him going to the doctor, plus not wanting to get any of them sick.
At first, he thought he may have COVID. He hoped not, he really didn't want to be the cause of having his entire team quarantined. Another reason Karl dreaded that thought was because COVID is one of those illnesses that is still so unpredictable, even over a year since quarantine started. It's different for almost everyone and perfectly healthy people are getting it and not being able to live on their own anymore. Yeah, no thanks.
He decided to stop overthinking this, it was probably just a cold or the flu or something like that. Karl went to bed at a time that was considered extremely early for him, as it was only 12:58 A.M. but honestly, he didn't have the energy to fight staying awake.
When Karl woke up the next morning feeling somehow worse than he did the night before. His fever went up to 103 and his chest hurt worse. There's no denying now that this isn't just allergies, something is actually wrong.
He got out of bed and put on something that was at least half way decent and eventually (after about an hour of stalling and dreading going to see a doctor) Karl made it to the doctors.
He hates this. He hates being sick. He hates the feeling of not being able to do anything. He hates being cold. And most importantly, he hates the doctors.
Karl checks himself in at around 9:30 and takes a seat in the "sick" side of the waiting room. He got bored pretty quickly so he messaged Sapnap and give him a small update about Karl being sick.
Karl 09:32
heyy I'm bored and miserable so I decided to annoy you
Sapnap 09:32
good morning, what a lovely message to wake up to, but why are you miserable?
Karl 09:33
I'm sick and Chris forced me to go to the doctors :')
Before Sapnap had time to respond, Karl's name was called and he was pulled to a room and ushered to sit down on the exam table. The doctor, which Karl couldn't remember the name of for the life of him, asked him a bunch of questions about his symptoms, took his temperature (again, he had to have it taken when he walked in because of COVID and all), and then listened to his heart and breathing.
After all of that, the doctor finally started to test him for different illnesses. She started to do swabs for COVID, influenza, and strep throat. All came back negative so the doctor decided to run some blood work to see if that gave her and Karl any answers.
A nurse came in to draw his blood and as soon as he stuck his finger, Karl immediately felt sick. He doesn't like needles. At all. This fucking sucks.
The nurse then leaves to go run tests and the doctor follows so Karl is alone in the room. He pulls out his phone to see if Sapnap has replied to him.
Sapnap 09:35
awe, I'm sorry to hear the darling, I hope everythings okay and it's nothing too serious <3
Karl 10:13
I tested negative for COVID, the flu, and strep throat so I honestly have no clue what it is
Sapnap didn't respond immediately so, naturally, Karl got bored pretty quickly so he opened the Mr. Beast crew group chat to give them an update about the doctors appointment.
Karl 10:14
hey, so just a small update, I went to the doctor and tested negative for COVID, the flu, and strep so now I have no clue what it could be
Chandler 10:15
I'm sorry man, I hope you feel better soon, I'm bored in the studio without you, you're a lot more fun Chris is, he just sits and makes fun of me all day :')
Chandler 10:15
also, glad it's not covid bc then we'd all be quarantined and hold a grudge against you for the rest of your life lmao*
Karl 10:15
haha, very funny. I'm just hoping it's nothing too serious bc that'd be absolute hell
Chris 10:16
I'll have you know that I am plenty of fun, and like Chandler said, feel better soon because I miss you
Karl 10:16
you literally saw me yesterday
Chris 10:16
YESTERDAY WAS A LONG TIME AGO, OKAY?
Jimmy 10:17
get well soon Karl, and stop arguing in my group chat
Karl 10:17
thanks guys, I appreciate it <3
He puts his phone down when he hears the door open and the doctor comes back in. She sets her tablet down on the counter on the opposite side of the exam table where Karl was sitting. She takes a seat on the stool in the office and picked her tablet up once again.
"Alright, Mr. Jacobs, so after running some blood tests and listening to your breathing, it seems like you have viral pneumonia. It appears to be nothing too severe, hopefully we managed to catch it before it got bad. We would also like to run an x-ray on your chest to see the location and extent of the inflammation in your lungs, okay?"
Karl just nods and follows her to a different room where he stood up to this machine, his chest pressed against it, while the doctor went to a different, almost closed off section of the room and started to take the x-ray.
Once she was done, she ushered Karl to follow her back to the previous room that they were in so she could talk him through the x-ray and medicines to take.
"Alright, so it isn't anything too bad, like I had said before. I'm going to prescribe you an antiviral medication that'll be ready to pickup at 12:00 today. I recommend you to take acetaminophens, such as Tylenol, drink lots of water and warm beverages, take warm baths, and stay away from areas that have lots of smoke, okay? this should clear up in a week or two."
Karl thanks the doctor and she leads him out to the front desk where he went through everything with receptionist that he needed to.
He gets into his car and pulls out his phone to talk to the Mr. Beast crew and Sapnap while he waits for his medicine to be ready.
Karl 11:08
hey just got done at the doctor's and I have pneumonia. just have to rest and take some antiviral meds and I'll be good since it's nothing bad. for once I'm glad that Chris proved me wrong and told me to go to the doctor
Chris 11:09
and that's why you should always listen to me
Chris 11:09
but I'm glad that it's not too severe
Jimmy 11:09
if we all listened to you all the time we'd probably all be dead
Jimmy 11:09
but like Chris said, I'm glad it's not too bad as well
Chandler 11:10
one question, is it contagious? I know nothing about pneumonia lmao
Karl 11:10
viral pneumonia is contagious, which is what I have, but I wasn't coughing or sneezing around you guys but I'd still just watch for symptoms just incase
Karl 11:10
I'm almost positive that I got it through someone that we brought on for a video
Jimmy 11:11
that makes sense
Jimmy 11:11
still sucks though, pneumonia is a shitty thing to have, hope you feel better soon
Karl 11:11
yeah, I know, it's weird to be able to feel my lungs rattle when I breathe
Chandler 11:11
lmao, sucks to be you
C handler 11:12
but seriously, get well soon <3
Chris 11:12
^^
Karl 11:12
thanks <3
Karl closes the group chat when Chandler decided to start arguing about whether they should eat Bojangles or Chick-fil-A for lunch, as he wouldn't be joining them for lunch so what's the point of being in the conversation? He opens his messages with Sapnap to tell him about what he has.
Karl 11:13
found out that I have viral pneumonia. I was told to just rest and take some antiviral meds for about 2 weeks and I should be good as we were able to catch it before it got super bad
Sapnap 11:13
awe I'm sorry to hear that :((
Sapnap 11:13
I hope you feel better soon because you're miserable so therefore I'm miserable
Karl 11:13
God you're so cheesy
Sapnap 11:14
yeah but you love it ;)
Karl 11:14
that is true
Sapnap 11:14
I hope you get better soon, I love you <3
Karl 11:15
I love you too <3
Karl closes his phone and sits it down in the cup holders of his car and finally decides to leaves the parking lot of the doctors office. He pulls out of the parking lot and stops at a McDonald's to grab some food as he hasn't eaten all day.
After he went through the drive through at McDonald's and ate his food in the parking lot, it was almost 12:00 so he drove to the pharmacy to pick up his medicine. By the time he got there, it was 12:09.
There was a drive through type of thing at the pharmacy so Karl didn't have to go inside to get his medicine. After he got his medicine, he drove home and almost immediately fell asleep.