Since March, I have written many editorials and articles regarding COVID-19 and its affects on the Wright County area.
The one I was praying I would never have to write was a first person perspective on the coronavirus officially arriving inside my own home.
My father, who lives with us, went into the hospital two weeks ago with pneumonia symptoms.
On the first day there, a COVID-19 test was administered to him and it came back negative.
After being discharged prematurely over the weekend, my father unfortunately went back to the hospital a week ago Monday as he was obviously still sick.
While I made the argument that he needed antibiotics and steroids that his body usually responds to with past pneumonia battles, I received a phone call that shook up my entire family.
The ER doctor said my father tested positive for COVID-19. I was irate. I couldn’t believe it. I demanded a retest. I knew what my dad was previously in the hospital for and he tested negative a week earlier. His symptoms matched up with past trips to the ER we have had over the past three years he’s lived with us. We are his caretakers and power-of-attorney for medical so we just know.
Since I drove my father home from the hospital on the first trip and saw to it he was picked up by EMTs on Monday, it was necessary that I get a COVID-19 test due to my exposure. It later came back negative. But really that didn’t matter.
My father’s positive test shook the schedule of my entire family to the core.
The Texas County Health Department contacted our family and placed us on immediate quarantine. This means my son, who is also one of the kickers for the Mountain Grove football team, would not only miss his first game of the season, but he was forced to miss the first two weeks of school. He switched instantly to a virtual learning format until he can return. We also had to reach out to others we had been in close contact with over the last week.
While normally being home should be a blessing to someone like me who works all of the time, I’ve had to quarantine myself away from the rest of my family due to how close in proximity I was to my father during the weekend where I took care of him as my wife and kids were out of town.
I have been unable to eat at the same table or give my kids a hug before going to bed. I’ve had to sleep in a different room away from my wife. Even though my test came back negative, there is always a chance that I could still get a later positive designation due to COVID-19.
Now here’s the deal, is this the worse thing that could ever happen to us?
No. Fortunately, my father finally received the medicines that he needed and his health has taken a turn for the better. So he’s on the road to recovery.
None of my other family members have fallen ill to the coronavirus.
It really has just been a big inconvenience.
I worked on this entire Sep. 2 issue of the newspaper from my home.
Now I did go out to take storm photos, but other than that, I relied on the help of some parents for football coverage and more. I explained my situation to coaches I had to interview for fall previews and they all responded to my questions in a timely fashion. Due to space, we had to hold our cross country previews until the Sep. 9 issue. I’d prefer to be in the office every day working on the paper, but by God’s grace, the paper did reach your hands again this week.
In the meantime, prayers are appreciated for my father as he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. I thank you in advance.
