In a world filled with noise and people who get their knowledge from YouTube, this is a real-life experience of a family’s COVID-19 survival story—my family’s COVID-19 survival story of hope!
South Africa (10 July 2020) – I originally posted this story of my 60-year-old parents testing positive for COVID-19 to my personal Facebook page, but some of the Good Things Guy readers asked me to publish it as an article so that more people could read it.
So here is my story and my family’s story.
A COVID-19 survival story of hope!
It’s day 14… exactly 336 hours since I received the call from my mom.
“We have it, we have the COVID.”
Both she (59 years old) and my father (60 years old) had been diagnosed with COVID-19. I felt sick to my stomach. I cannot lose another parent. I am just not strong enough for that. I know without a doubt that I won’t survive that.
I lost my birth father to Malaria nearly 10 years ago. It was so sudden and horribly tragic. We got the diagnosis and the next day he died. I still remember that call. My phone rang, and my heart stopped, I forgot to breathe & fell to the floor.
I had lost one of the greatest loves of my life. And now my two other loves – my parents – had phoned to tell me that they had COVID-19. I felt that feeling again; a deep fear in the pit of my stomach.
People are dying. The news says this thing is deadly. Scientists say that people over 55 are the highest risk. The stats are real. This thing is real. We see it all around us. Gauteng is preparing space for one million graves just in case. And now my parents have it!!! I haven’t seen them in over 120 days to keep them safe, and now they have it. Does this mean I will never see them again?
I clear my thoughts and my throat.
“You’ll be fine mom, it affects everyone differently, and you two are pretty healthy. I wouldn’t even be stressed. Let’s take it day by day, and we’ll get through this. It will be okay.”
We chatted for a little longer, I put the phone down and sobbed uncontrollably. I can’t remember the last time I was this scared, but I needed to be strong for them. I couldn’t let my fear show. I had to be positive in my outlook because they needed positivity.
We’re still not sure how they got it. They had been wearing masks, using sanitiser and hardly going out. They had been meticulous, but that was in the past… we now had to face this thing head-on!
I spent the next week phoning them every day, all day… I think it was on day 3 that I phoned my mom 11 times. At first, it was to do health-checks but then it was just to spend time with them – even just over the phone – it was about spending time.
And then on day 5, something really amazing happened.
We all realised that they only had mild symptoms, and those symptoms weren’t getting any worse… if anything they were getting better. Nothing chesty, just some sniffles, a slight headache and massive confusion as to why they weren’t getting sicker. They were supposed to be “at-risk”, but all this felt like, was a little cold.
As the days went by, they just kept getting healthier. I still phoned every morning to do a health check and phoned countless times throughout the day to catch up. But every day they both got a little less sick. No special medication. No extra anything. Just sleep, water, some good old Vitamin D and a dose of positivity and hope.
Today is day 14… exactly 336 hours since I received the call from my mom and today my parents are now considered recovered.
They survived COVID-19 without any complications, and I know not everyone will be this lucky, but their story is important. In a world filled with noise and people who get their knowledge from YouTube, this is a real-life experience of a family’s COVID-19 survival story—my family’s COVID-19 survival story!
A COVID-19 survival story of hope!
The South African numbers are rapidly rising, and it seems that we’re all going to get it at some point, but we have to remember that this thing works differently for everyone. Some will have no symptoms, some will have mild symptoms, and some will be very severe. I don’t think scientists even understand why it affects people so differently. We just need to try to stay as healthy as possible and keep looking after the most at-risk.
My parents’ story has entirely made me change my perspective.
This thing we are going through is traumatic for everyone, but I believe talking openly about it will make it a little easier for everyone. To share our different experiences might drown out some of the noise.
I’m still wearing my mask, sanitising and social distancing, but my reaction to the next call I get (from someone who has tested positive) will be made without any fear and instead bucket loads of hope…
And I think that’s a far better way to face and ultimately overcome this pandemic.
With hope.
by 