I wish it was some humorous prank that our family caught COVID on April Fools, but rest assured, it was no joke. I’m sure having COVID-19 may seem so common nowadays, and my family and I were blessed enough to not have seen the worst of it, but for those few that are curious as to what it’s like to have the virus, I’ve recounted my recent experience. For some background information, my family consists of  my mom, dad, brother Jayden and I. Out of the four of us, my brother was able to stay healthy throughout the entire time.

April 1

What perfect comedic timing that my dad began to feel slightly sick on April Fool’s Day. When he came home from work that day, he had chills and was overall fatigued. My family didn’t think it was COVID, but we were more cautious around him. He was still able to do his work from home, and it seemed like a normal cold.

April 4

On Easter Sunday, my family still went to church as my dad was playing the piano for the service. Yes, that was a very risky decision, but it was important to us since we missed Easter last year after the pandemic outbreak. The service was outside, so thankfully no one at our church caught COVID from us. However, later that night, I started to have chills and realized I had a fever too. The next day, my dad went to get a COVID test.

April 5-9

The entire week was very stressful for me because, being the stubborn and studious person I am, I decided to not miss any of my Zoom classes. Everyday, I would wake up with a fever, take my Tylenol, join my class, and finish my homework. I developed a sore throat and stopped talking for a few days. For the majority of the week, I had a fever of 99 or 100. I drank a lot of honey and water to help soothe my throat. Forcing myself to eat was very difficult because I had lost my appetite. Not only that, but I had very little energy, and walking up the stairs to my room took everything out of me. Looking back, I had very similar symptoms to a common cold.

April 7

The worst part was on Wednesday when I had a 101 fever and felt absolutely awful. I also started to have a phlegmy cough. Still being a goody-two-shoes, I continued to participate in my classes. It was this day that my mom also began to feel unwell, so she scheduled a doctor’s appointment for both herself and I. After school, we went to the doctor and they did their usual check up as well as a COVID test. Just as we were in the middle of the appointment, my dad received a call confirming he had COVID, so at that point, my mom and I had a feeling we had it too. The next day, my mom and I got a call confirming we had COVID as well.

April 10-11

Over the weekend, my fever subsided and I was able to regain a little energy and appetite. My sore throat also began to recover and I started speaking again. My dad was still struggling with a fever and fatigue even though he caught it before I did.

April 12-16

I was basically back to normal and towards the beginning of the week my dad slowly began to recover as my mom grew worse. Her fever was between 100-102 most of the time, and Tylenol did very little to lower her fever. She was either on the couch or in bed all day. She had a cough, and threw up what little she ate. Even though the previous week had been stressful for me, this week was equally stressful because I cared for my mom and didn’t want to see her ill. During this time, my dad and I had to take on the duties of cooking dinner, cleaning (kind of), and taking care of my mom on top of our school and work. However, the upside was I was soon able to climb the stairs easily and eat my normal amount of food. On top of that, towards the end of the week, a friend from church discovered we had COVID and organized a meal train for us, which quickly filled up. This took a huge load off of our shoulders as we didn’t have to worry about cooking dinner.

April 17-23

Over the weekend, my mom’s fever began to slow down, but she still struggled in her breathing. Another friend from church was kind enough to bring us a Pulse Oximeter (which tells you how much oxygen you are breathing in) and we realized my mom wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Before school on Tuesday, my dad took her to the hospital and she was put on oxygen almost immediately. The doctors realized she had pneumonia, (inflammation in the lungs) and gave her her needed treatment. Once the oxygen was getting to her, my mom perked up almost instantly. During her hospital stay, I felt much more peaceful because she was getting her much needed care and her appetite was definitely improving.

April 22

On Thursday, after I took my STAAR test for English II, my dad and I drove to the hospital to pick up my mom because the inflammation in her lungs had greatly decreased. My family and I felt very fortunate that she was recovering so rapidly. Even though she was discharged from the hospital, she still had her oxygen and was given medicine to take.

Even now, she is still on oxygen every now and then and is working on building up her energy again, but is otherwise back to her full perky self. The amount of gratitude I have for the people who contributed to the meal train, or sent flowers or cookies, or even a note of concern can’t be expressed with a simple “thank you.” Having a meal delivered to our door was the highlight of my day sometimes. As a Christian, I am grateful to God for being there for me and my family throughout this experience and being my steadfast rock that I could lean on. On a lighter note, I am grateful for Chex mix, saltine crackers, honey and Gatorade, which were my family’s lifeline during COVID. 

And even though the experience wasn’t the most thrilling one, I wouldn’t ever change a thing about it because I can officially say I am a proud COVID survivor.