No one is invincible

Hiiiiiii! It’s been almost three months since my last post, and I missed blogging! Life had been crazy, and I just didn’t have the energy and the time to write the past months.  But now that I have both, I have so much I want to share, especially about COVID-19 and how it showed me that it does not choose who to infect and to spare. No one is invincible.

Where do I even start?

Last July 14, our father was rushed to the hospital when his blood pressure shot up. It was 8:00 PM when my older sister called to let me know. But few weeks before that, our mother had been telling me that he had been acting strange. Apparently, we sent him to the wrong doctors, and he took the improper medications. We were all clueless as to what was happening to him until the night of July 14.

Our province was in the Enhanced Community Quarantine at that time, and all hospitals were in full capacity because our province’s COVID cases were pretty bad. Our cousin, a registered nurse, told us that he was having a stroke based on his palpable symptoms that night, and we thought so, too. But no hospital was taking him in. At 10:00 PM, they were turned down by three hospitals already. Our dad started to have difficulty speaking. He could not even say a single word. I was worried sick. Finally, another hospital agreed to admit him on one condition: He needed to test negative in the Rapid Antigen Test. We were confident that he would test negative because he had no symptoms, but he had gone out of the house several times for his check-ups. A few minutes after, the hospital’s Rapid Antigen Test showed that… he’s positive. That hospital denied admitting him and advised my sister to bring him to the designated  COVID-referral facilities.

I felt… There’s no right word to describe how I felt when my sister told me that our father tested positive. It was as if the world collapsed around me. My mind went blank. I could not stop my tears from falling. My knees weaken. I wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. I thought no one is really invincible.

It was half-past eleven when a COVID-referral hospital took him in. He and my sister were sent to an isolation area. The hospital administered a PCR test to validate the result of his antigen test, and he was given a first-aid for stroke. His vital signs were not that great that night. I had to attend a migration for my project at work scheduled at 3:00 AM the following day. Still, I couldn’t even get a wink of sleep because I was petrified about what could happen if I did, and I thought if he would test positive, then there is a big chance our mom would be a COVID positive as well.

I did what I thought the only thing I could do when everything seems to be falling apart—prayed. I did incessantly. I bargained with Him ceaselessly. I developed the habit of negotiating with Him when our mother had a major operation six years ago. I would tell Him that it’s okay that I’m going through certain adversity or I was rejected or failed, as long as the parents are healthy. I can take the bullets for them.

It was almost one in the morning, and I forced myself to lie down. I prayed for miracles.

I attended the migration the following day, but I was tired physically, emotionally, and mentally. I was in the conference bridge call, but my mind was drifting away.

In the morning, our sister informed us that our dad’s vital signs improved from last night, and he’s already able to mumble a few words (Thank you, Lord!) At noon, the result of his PCR test came out. He tested negative! He was moved to a private ward so the doctors can monitor him properly. He was discharged four days later, and he’s able to speak and move as if nothing happened. Honestly, when I learned about his symptoms, I was already looking for therapy centers to send him for speech therapy.

It’s not clear if the Rapid Antigen Test yielded a false-positive result (false-positives are really high for this kind of COVID test) or it was simply a miracle.

Whatever it is, these are the miracles that I will always be thankful for.  My soul will praise Him forever.

This may serve as a reminder that no one is really invincible. You and I can be exposed to and be infected by COVID-19. I repeat, NO ONE IS INVINCIBLE.

Please be vaccinated as soon as you can. Read reliable sources only. Stay at home.

Take care, everyone.