It pains me to see prayer requests and black profile pictures on Facebook because I know that it means an agonizing predicament befell them. And I on my part silently pray for all of them relatives, friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike. Of course, I also pray for my son and I’s safety from ever contracting this virus.

But alas.

Last September 29, (Saturday) my son Jozef told me he’d be meeting his High School batchmates somewhere in Las Pinas City. Deep inside I wanted to tell him, no, and he better stay home and be safe. But you know how kids are these days. And besides, he is old enough to decide for himself as long as it is for his own good. I guess I should have trusted my mother’s instinct!

Before leaving the house, I reminded him to bring all the necessary weapons he would need out there on the virus battlefield. Face masks, alcohol, and told him to keep his distance from his friends just to be sure. Plus I gave him supplements and lots of prayers for his safe return.

He got home in the wee hours of the morning, as expected but proceeded to a friend’s house (within the village) I guess to continue on the bonding and lost times. Geez.

Given that he is already an adult, I, as a single Mom still find it hard to get good sleep when my only child is not yet home. I waited for him until around 3 AM. With my heart at ease, I turned off my laptop and kissed him goodnight.

The following day, we went on our usual breakfast and computer activities without any hassle. It’s the weekend so for me, it’s Netflix time. He did one of his Intense workouts while I was browsing the net. After that, he rested for 5 minutes and took a shower.

The next day, I noticed him coughing and sneezing. According to him, he slept top naked with his back caressing the wind from his electric fan. Bad sign, right? So we thought it was just that. The following day though, he already has a fever. Oh, no I thought. This is not good. You see, my son had a bout with Dengue twice already! So I said, that it might be that again since those mosquitoes really love his blood. We were monitoring if rashes would appear but even on the 5th day, there was none.

On the 6th day, the fever has subsided so I decided to have him tested for Covid and took the RT PCR test. Praying and hoping to spare him from that dreaded disease, but the result yielded positive. I wanted to scream, shout and cry my lungs out but I composed myself because I have to be strong for both of us. I too had to take the test for safety precautions. Good thing I was spared.

I am very grateful that he only had a Mild case and he is recovering well on his 7th day. But we had to complete the long 14 days from when his result came out. What pains me the most is those nights when he had chills and I cannot even hug and comfort him physically. And when I had to give him his food to take alone in his room breaks my heart even more as we are used to eating together each and every meal.

October 13 marks my 58 years of existence and also his 10th day in isolation so we had to celebrate it still but eat apart from each other. Sucks, right? But thankful still because his coughing is easing out little by little. Whew! Getting there!

Actually, he is perfectly fine on his 14th day with his sense of smell and tastes back by about 70% but we had to follow the rules and added 4 four more days before he can come out of his isolation.

We both agreed on getting an antigen test even though it is not necessary anymore as instructed by the LGU. But for our peace of mind, we did so on October 21 and he is now officially Covid free. Thank heavens!

So, yes Covid IS real and visited my home. I did not welcome him with open arms but dealt with it properly, followed everything there is to keep him from depression and aggravation, and prayed through it all.

Indeed those were the hardest and longest 14 days of our lives but we made it, Mommshies!