It was exactly 3
Sundays ago when I got the most shocking call. I remember putting the girls to
bed walking into the family room to see Joel Osteen preaching about God
allowing us to have bumps and roadblocks in our lives. How God never said that
we wouldn’t have them but, he would help us to get through them.
Imagine sitting at
home enjoying your Saturday, and you get the most shocking disturbing life
changing, life altering phone call. Someone at your kids’ camp was exposed to
COVID-19! Well, that’s what happened to me. I wasn’t worried to be honest,
because I knew God would cover my kids, it was just a little shocking to get
that call. To be honest, I had been feeling very fatigued three days prior,
couldn’t get out the bed, but I kept pushing thinking I was just tired because
I’m a single mom of four kids. So, I started thinking what if I had COVID. Nah,
but how? I work from home, and only go to the store, gas station, and
Chiropractor’s office. Literally that’s it! So later that Sunday, I packed up
my four daughters and got them tested. Earlier that Sunday morning I got tested
just to be sure. After coming home from getting tested I slept for two hours
straight! Now, for a full-time working single mom of four kids, taking a nap is
a shock! But, to take a 2-hour nap is even crazier! I didn’t think anything of
it, I just got up took my daughters to get tested and carried on with my day.
It was that Sunday night that change my life! The doctor’s office called back
with the test results. She said, well I have good news and bad news. Here I am
with the bubble guts! Ma’am 2 of the test came back positive and 2 negatives!! Out
of my four daughters two test results came back positive. How could that be?
What did I do? Do I really have it, is that why I’m sick? Did I give it to my
daughters? Where did I get it from? I felt 99.9% sure that my kids did not get
it from the person that tested positive at their camp.
10 PM that night after
I got the call, the girls were playing, and I was cleaning. All I could do was
pray to God and say why, why, why, why God??? I didn’t care that the house was
dirty or messed up from them playing. I just wanted them to stay in the room
while I talked to God and cry, I mean really cry snot tears. All I could manage
to say to God was, why, why, what did I do? God can I carry this for
them? I’d rather carry this for them, give me all their symptoms God. I do
not want them to suffer! Ha!
Well that Monday while
working from home, I was sitting at my computer feeling as if I had a sinus
infection and thinking wow my throat hurts, they must have really swabbed my
throat hard LOL. I remember sitting there suffering, just trying to make it to
my lunch hour. I was feeling so bad! Normally I’d take a 30-minute lunch, but
God spoke to me and said Lorna, on your lunch break go to Target and get things
for the rest of the week. Lord knows I didn’t want to take a lunch that
day, I just wanted to take a 30 minute break and just lay down and rest! That’s
just how bad I felt! I doubled up on my mask, didn’t touch anything in the
store, and got stuff we needed for the rest of the week.
Later, I remember
calling my baby sister saying please bring us some chicken, the girls need to
eat dinner and I have no energy. I told her to not come inside the house just
leave the food at the door. It was something telling me that, God telling me
that. Little did I know, later that night would be the beginning of a 23-day
journey of living with COVID while taking care of 4 girls all by myself!
6/29 - 7:30pm, Monday,
as I was sitting at the table barely eating with my 3 girls drinking hot tea, a
huge mucous plug forms in my throat. I begin coughing and crying because my
throat hurt so bad. I continue coughing to clear my airway, but it wouldn’t
clear, I could not breathe, I could not breathe!! I remember my 3 daughters
under seven sitting at the table saying, mommy, are you OK, are you OK?
I screamed for my
oldest to come quick! I remembered learning in CPR to keep coughing, so I kept
coughing, she kept patting me on my back while I patted myself in my chest
until my throat was clear. That’s when it all started. Was that day 1? I don’t
know because I started feeling bad the week before.
Did I have a fever?
That night I stood in the shower, hot shower with goosebumps all over my body I
could not get warm I’m standing in the shower seemed like for 30 minutes before
I’m even bathing. I can’t get warm, why can’t I get warm, is this the virus? I
finally got dressed, got in bed, got warm, went to sleep and slept through the
night.
6/30 - Tuesday morning
I woke up feeling worst. It felt as if I was hit by a truck. As if someone was
sucking my energy out of my body with a straw. My throat was on fire. My
daughters tried to get in the bed with me as they do every morning, and I
screamed out in pain from them barely touching my legs! I tried to turn my neck
to look at them, but my neck hurt, my head hurt, my eyelids hurt! My eyes were
itching so bad, I went to scratch my eyes and oh my God, they hurt so bad! This
was the worst pain ever! What am I going to do? I have three littles under
seven, my daughter is only 15! I remember telling her you’re going to have to
take care of them I can’t do it, I can’t do it! I couldn’t even walk to use the
bathroom by myself, my oldest had to help me! I was so weak, my legs felt heavy
like bricks, and I was coughing so bad, I peed on myself! Yep! Sure did! That
Tuesday was horrible. That’s the only part I remember about it for the most
part. I slept the ENTIRE day. Every time I would wake up a little and move in
my sleep I would cough horrifically. As if my body was having a seizure and afterwards,
I could barely breathe! After I caught my breath, I would inhale and exhale to
exercise my lungs. As a nurse I knew how important that was. I told myself,
when you wake up exercise your lungs! You cannot let your lungs collapse! You
have four girls here that need you! Every time I woke up, I remember asking my
daughter for orange juice and water. I wanted a pop tart so bad too. It took me
the entire day to eat it. I never ate anything else.
7/1 Wednesday, I felt
better. My body didn’t feel heavy, and my cough had subsided a little. I
immediately went into a panic because if my symptoms were improving more than
likely I had passed it on to one of my daughters. That day was better, but I
was very dizzy, tired, and still no appetite. I could help with the girls but
still needed KK, my oldest daughter, help a little. I received my results later
that night and they were negative! I thank God for that little energy I had
because later that night my oldest became as sick as me and was in the bed all
day on Thursday.
7/2-7/5
Thursday-Sunday, still feeling horrible some nurses I know told me to get
retested. That Friday my oldest was better! That Saturday one of my twins became
sick with vomiting and diarrhea. By that night she was much better!
7/6-7/8
Monday-Wednesday, diarrhea for three days and still really no appetite.
Retested on Wednesday and it was positive that Thursday night! Explained a lot
of me still having symptoms!
It is now Friday July
24th and I’m STILL positive! I’ve had great days. I’ve also had an entire week
of shortness of breath and chest pains.
Saturday 7/25 was a
great day. Me and my girls played outside for two hours straight and when I got
tired, I took a rest.
Sometimes things got
so bad I felt like I need oxygen.
7/20 Monday, it got so
bad, my oldest had to call 911 and I got taken to the hospital. That’s when I
found out I’m STILL positive! Almost 30 days later! This virus is no joke! Take
it seriously! I still have a cough, nausea, stomach pains, and bad days. Oh,
and did I mention almost a month later and we still must quarantine! I did a
short video while in the hospital showing just how serious it is. How did we
make it through? How did we eat? Did I continue working or have I gone back to
work? It will all be up on my YouTube channel. Make sure you’re subscribed to, The Mom Nurse Fashionista
Please remember to
listen to your body, wear your mask, wash your hands, and don’t be afraid to
get tested. It can save you and a family member or friend.
YouTube: The Mom Nurse Fashionista
Instagram: @themomnursefashionista
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