2021. At the start of last year, I was hopeful that the pandemic will come to an end. But no, it did not end. In the Philippines, a year after the first lockdown, we had another lockdown in March 2021 and another one in August 2021. All was well with us until the first week of September. My mom got very sick. She thought that it was just the seasonal flu. However, we encouraged her to have herself swabbed for CoVid just to be sure. We suspected she had it because she lost her sense of taste.
At the time she was sick, I checked up on her, bought her medicine, and took care of her. During this time, I wore a mask and made sure that I washed and sanitized my hands when I returned home. However, I fell ill a day before she had her swab test. It started with a headache that ran through my nape. It was the worst kind of headache I have ever experienced in my life. Next was the fever. My temperature ranged from 38°C-39°C. At this time, I took paracetamol just to keep my temperature down. After two days, my fever subsided.
Then it was my daughter and husband who manifested flu-like symptoms. It was at this time when my mom’s results came out after several days and it was confirmed that she did have CoVid. At this point, we knew that we were also infected with the virus. We had informed our Local Government Unit, our barangay, that we have flu-like symptoms. We were later informed that the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) will bring us to the swab testing area for our RT-PCR.
It was my third time to be swabbed. The first one was when there was an H1N1 outbreak. The second one was done earlier this year because one of my aunts tested positive for CoVid and everyone who had encounters with her had to be swabbed. Thankfully for the first and second one, I tested negative. But I wasn’t so lucky for this third one. After after a week, I was diagnosed with CoVid, together with my daughter and husband.
Our local government unit, albeit, a bit slow in response due to the rising cases of CoVid in our barangay at that time, did its best to monitor us by sending over CESU personnel to check our condition and by sending us to a hospital for a check-up after the swab test. Kudos to the BHERT personnel and the ambulance driver who were with us throughout the nerve-wracking experience. They were the epitome of calmness and positivity which eased some of worries during the ride to the testing center and from the hospital.
Before we left the hospital, we were asked to sign a waiver that we have chosen to be quarantined at home instead of a health facility, because these facilities were filled to the brim at this time when there was a Delta variant surge. Among the three of us, it was my husband who had the worst case and he was advised that if his condition worsens, then he has to be admitted to a health facility. We also found out that my husband and I have pneumonia. It was a good thing that our daughter tested negative for pneumonia.
Our family doctor who we consulted before our swab test monitored our condition. We sent her details of our temperature, oxygen saturation, rate- heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure twice a day during our home quarantine. At this time, my husband and I lost our sense of smell and taste and we cannot appreciate the food that we ate. Our doctor advised that we have to eat even if we don’t feel like it and to drink at least three liters of water per day. Our daughter had coughing fits and excessive sweating. I was worried if we will get better because my husband and I had only one dose of CoVid vaccine and our daughter was still waiting for her schedule. My husband and I were supposed to get our second dose but we were already sick on the scheduled date and chose to defer to get the second dose after we recover.
It was during this time that I felt very tired and slept most of the time. It was the first time for two weeks that I was not able to work regularly. I am a certified workaholic and I get restless if I don’t do anything. To pass the time, I watched vlogs of people who had CoVid, ferry rides in Japan, food videos, animal videos. I wanted to read e-books because it was the perfect time to do so but I find it hard to focus on the screen and it seemed that the screen turns to liquid, like a metallic silver gray color. This was the time I felt so helpless, thinking when I would get better and get back to work.
It was an ordeal that opened my eyes to so many things; how short life is, how valuable it is, that self-care should always be prioritized, and that one will know who your real family and friends are. While there were a few people, family and friends, who reached out and gave their support in many forms, there were some relatives and friends who scorned us for contracting the disease. They felt that because of us, our compound will be locked down. Thus, their everyday routine and their jobs will be disrupted, which, I may add, never happened. We were the only ones who were forbidden to go out, to buy food, go to the bank and pharmacy, and walk our dog. We were like prisoners in our own home. It was all right to stay indoors for our home quarantine because for the past one year and six months, we were just basically at home, working from home, studying from home. However, to not be given the moral or emotional support during the time of our home quarantine was another issue. These so-called people did not ask us what we needed, if there was any, nor did they want us to have our swab tests. Later on, I explained to them that the results of our swab tests were a company and school requirement. Imagine how it affected our mental health at that time, suffering from the disease and being loathed for contracting it.
With God’s grace, plenty of nutritious food and supplements, and support from friends and family, we were able to pull through. Though the recovery was not that instant as we still experience long hauler symptoms, I am glad that we have lived to tell our CoVid experience.
For those suffering from CoVid or have suffered from this illness, my prayers go out to you. 
musingsofawordweaver 