My Parents Contracted Coronavirus

My dad came home feeling sick exactly three weeks ago today, May 26. I saw very little of him that night; he never ate dinner and went to bed early. I didn’t think much of it at the time which seems naive of me now, but my mom slept in the room with him that night so everything still felt relatively normal. By the time I woke up the next morning, my dad was closed off in my parents’ room and my mom had started disinfecting everything, hoping to isolate the virus to one member of the family. I didn’t see my dad again for over a week after he began self isolating. Any time he had to momentarily leave his room to use the bathroom, my mom quickly disinfected everything he had touched.

A couple of days later, my mom started feeling sick too; she began wearing a heavy duty mask around the house and tried to stay clear of my brother and I as much as possible. This proved difficult because besides mine and my brother’s room, there was nowhere in the house to completely isolate herself. My brother and I are old enough to take care of ourselves, he’s going to be a freshman at Masterman next year, but my mom didn’t want us to feel so alone. It’s already difficult being isolated from my friends who I’m used to interacting with almost every day, so to not even be able to talk to my parents was difficult. It made me realize how important human connection is and how difficult it must be for people living alone during this crisis.

Eventually, my dad’s fevers stopped, and three days later he was allowed to leave his room. Unfortunately, the weekend after my dad was well enough to return to the household, my mom became far more sick and was forced to self isolate for almost another week. Neither of my parents ever required hospitalization; both consulted their doctors over the phone for medical advice on how to proceed with the situation. Thankfully, they were never forced to seek additional treatment. Nonetheless, their mild cases of Covid-19 still proved exhausting, both mentally and physically. What my parents soon found is that a mild case of coronavirus does not necessarily correlate to a standard cold or flu as we are used to experiencing. Of course, depending on age and health, everyone experiences Covid-19 differently; however, for those who experience symptoms, the results can prove physically detrimental, even in cases where hospitalization is not required. Three weeks since my dad first got sick he is still fighting a cough and my mom has difficulty standing and moving around for long periods of time without feeling dizzy. Our recommended period of complete quarantine has ended and my parents can no longer infect others, but I doubt either of them will feel completely healthy for quite a while.

The decision of whether or not to get tested circulated for a few days while both my parents were sick. On one hand, knowing for sure one way or the other would be reassuring, but according to my dad’s doctor, a good amount of the time the tests result in a false negative, especially when taken earlier in the sick period. Plus, we were already reasonably sure they had contracted coronavirus. Both were experiencing fever, headaches, nausea, coughing, severe joint pain, loss of smell and taste, and difficulty breathing, all symptoms indicative of coronavirus, and regardless we were planning on taking the necessary precautions. Eventually, my dad decided to get tested and his results came back positive. My mom never got tested; the process involves pushing a swab deep into the nasal cavity to check for remnants of the virus, altogether highly uncomfortable and not a worthwhile endeavor for the rest of my family considering our situation. Throughout this experience, my brother and I never felt sick or showed any symptoms. It seems highly unlikely that we were never exposed despite the efforts of my parents; more likely, we were asymptomatic and our bodies were better equipped to fight the virus which is the case for many young people. In the future my entire family will be tested for antibodies and we’ll be provided with a more complete picture of the viral situation.

We think my dad contracted Covid from the Shoprite on 24th and Oregon; a few days ago, a neighbor informed us that the store had been on the news for Coronavirus. Who’s to say if my mom was infected there as well or got it later from my dad. Regardless, it’s been three weeks since I last left my house as a result of quarantine guidelines for Covid patients. Today was the first time I’ve gone farther than my backyard or my front stoop since my dad got sick. This was definitely a scary experience. Watching the news everyday and knowing how many lives have been lost was unnerving. It sounds cliche, but I never thought it would be my parents who got sick. I don’t want people to read what I’ve written and think I’m dramatic. I feel very very lucky that my parents never had to go to the hospital and are alive despite contracting coronavirus; for many people this isn’t the case. Josie, currently a senior at Masterman, has very bravely allowed me to share her story without a happy ending:

Josie recently lost her grandfather to coronavirus. Around the time when quarantine began, her grandfather fell a couple of times. His family was worried if they sent him to the hospital, he would be at a greater risk of catching Covid and instead suggested he wait for the time being and try to get more exercise. They had no way of foreseeing what would happen. Eventually, her grandfather fell again, forcing the paramedics to come and take him to the hospital. The hospital he arrived at was overloaded. Josie’s grandfather lived in the Bronx area of New York, and the hospital did not have the facilities to provide him with the care he needed. Her grandfather never got the results of the Covid test he was administered at the first hospital because of overcrowding. He was eventually moved to another hospital where he could be given the proper care, and there, he tested positive for Covid-19; it’s possible that he contracted the virus while in an independent living facility. For a while, he seemed to be getting better until one night his heart stopped, his condition exacerbated by past heart problems, and he passed away. Evidently, cardiac complications are a common cause of death in coronavirus patients. Josie told me the most difficult part of the experience was not being able to see her grandfather without putting the lives of her family and others at risk, nor has her family been able to have a funeral to celebrate the life of her grandfather and confront his passing. Without the ability to see family outside of those she is quarantined with and practice Jewish rituals following death, her grandfather’s passing had been especially difficult for the family. As Josie wisely said: “people need other people when they are in mourning.” My heart goes out to Josie and her family and I sincerely hope that sometime in the near future they will be able to properly say goodbye to her grandfather.

My larger message in sharing personal stories is a plea for everyone to be diligent in following protocol during this pandemic; practice social distancing and wear masks when you go outside. These methods aren’t foolproof, my parents got sick despite following guidelines, but they are effective when people choose to respect them. This is not a time to act selfishly; your actions do not impact only you, they impact the lives of everyone around you. I think that as young people we often feel invincible, but even if you are asymptomatic like my brother and I, you can infect others, including your loved ones. Remember to behave as the smart and responsible people you are, take care of your friends and family, and hopefully soon the situation will improve. Stay safe; my heart goes out to everyone who has been sick, had a relative who’s been sick, or lost someone they loved.