A Single Mother of Four Covid-19 Story




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. 


The blog: www.momnursefashionista.wordpress.com
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