The dreaded COVID.

It comes with a lot of speculation from people about on how you got it, especially when you’re a teenager. I was tested for COVID-19 New Year’s Day, along with the rest of my family. With my parents both working in the medical field, we knew it would probably happen at some point, but we were very careful. We wore our masks, tried to limit going places and being around people, and social distanced. We still ended up getting it, because of co-workers at my dad’s work. A co-worker was tested the day after Christmas, tested positive, and never told anyone. We found out on Facebook a week later. During that week my parents and I went to work, unknowingly exposing our co-workers to the virus. I work at a daycare so not only did I expose the people I work with, I also exposed the kids and their parents. I really do believe that wearing my mask while working caused me to not spread it to anyone I came in contact with. I realize that my family is lucky in the sense that we did not give it to anyone around us or to our loved ones.

After we tested positive it was on to the dreaded 10-day quarantine. I thought I would get lots of things done. I would have extra time to do my homework before eight at night, maybe even turn it in early, and other things that often get overlooked when being a student. However, I didn’t get out of bed much after the first two days. I was very tired and it was really hard for me to breathe. My dad didn’t have any symptoms, while my mom got the worst of it. She was very congested, lost her taste and smell, and was also very tired. Staying at home for 10-days didn’t sound too bad in the beginning. I figured I could go on drives in my car (not going to see anyone, of course) when I got bored or just wanted to get out of the house, but sadly my excitement was soon extinguished when I realized I could not leave the house AT ALL. The quarantine was probably the worst part just because it felt like all my freedom had been taken away, but I also realize that this is probably the second most important part of having COVID. It forced me to stay home and not go out to potentially expose people, because with driving comes the risk of getting in a car wreck, and then you expose all of the first responders to the virus.

The most important thing I feel in testing positive for COVID-19 is letting everyone you have been in contact with know. This not only helps limit the spread, but also because my dad didn’t know he had been exposed, we all felt horrible knowing that we could’ve given it to a co-worker or a loved one. I called my boss to let her know my dad tested positive before I even left my house to get tested, because I wanted her to know there was a possibility.  After he tested positive my dad called every one of his co-workers to let them know before he even left the parking lot, as did my mom and I. If you test positive and are scared to tell your boss, like I was, I can say it went a lot better than I ever thought. Not only my boss but the entire staff and parents were great, and they weren’t mad at me, which I honestly thought they would be.

If I would’ve known that I was exposed and could potentially have COVID-19, I would’ve done a lot of things different that week, but looking back on it now I know I got very lucky and things could’ve turned out a lot worse had I not followed the guidelines.  I am writing this article to share my experience and urge everyone to let people they have been in contact with know if they test positive. If I would’ve known I never would’ve exposed the people I love and care about.  I also understand that my family and I are very lucky that we did not spread it to anyone we love, that we all made it through and no one ended up in the hospital.

My family knows things could’ve looked very different.