Dramatic headline to match a dramatic story? You got it!
The world has been going through a global pandemic and so when it hit close to home, it shook my life up.
Both of my parents got COVID, at the same time, one of which had to be hospitalized in the intensive care unit.
As at when my dad tested positive for COVID, we had been managing his symptoms at home, I’d told him postions to stay in to help with the breathlessness, some meds for the fever and aches, but when his oxygen saturation continued to plummet, I had to get help. Not living with my parents, everything I did for them was virtual – assessing his breathing, his chest movements – everything, via a phone screen in itself was distressing; not to talk of having to switch off being his daughter and focus on being his doctor.
Watching my mom watch my dad get whisked away by an ambulance with tears at the brink of her eyes was really, really tough. But knowing that she had been exposed to the virus, I couldn’t afford for her to cry and become breathless, so I took the moment by the reins and made her promise not to allow her mind think of anything negative. I made her repeat after me that he’s coming back home very shortly, as a means of assuring her but truly I was just trying to assure myself too.
The next few days were difficult. Getting updates from the hospital and checking in on my mom – all whilst working full time, sometimes nights – was not a walk in the park. But what got me through it was not entertaining any negative thoughts whatsoever, rather I focused on praying for the outcome I wanted, which is that my dad came home healthy and my mom recovered at home naturally. Not for a second did I let my mind wander off into alternative outcomes. I just fixed my eyes on Jesus.
And Jesus came all the way through. From being on a face mask, he got stepped down to nasal cannula and then finally could breathe in room air normally. My dad lost a whopping 25kg in the 9 days that he was on admission, and his blood pressure and blood sugars are now better controlled than they were before he went to the hospital. In a strange way, he came out of the hospital healthier than he went in!
My mom made a full recovery and everyone is back to normal, in fact better than normal because now my dad is exercising and eating clean of his own volition – something we’ve been begging him to do for so long!
In a way, this affliction drew us closer, strengthened our family’s bond, and made us appreciate each other that tiny bit more – and I love that for us.
Many thanks to our amazing friends and family who supported us in all kinds of ways, it’s a really good feeling when you experience people rally around you and ensure you don’t feel alone at any point in the storm; they’re that Ray of hope. I pray our testimonies remain permanent in Jesus’ Name!
Till next time,
Dr ETP xo
