They Are Like Angels.
On Tuesday, I was scheduled to get my first COVID vaccination. But I got a 100.9-degree fever instead. A few scary days later, I got the diagnosis:
POSITIVE for COVID.
After so many months of fear and paranoia, after trying so hard for so long to keep my family and myself 100% virus-free, I won a million battles – but I lost the war. The virus got me in my own home, traveling through the air vents from our basement apartment, where one of our two tenants recently tested positive for COVID.
I am not young, and I have an autoimmune disorder. Oddly enough, I feel achy but good right now. My fever is gone for now. I have no way of knowing if I will continue to have mild symptoms, or if I will end up on a respirator next week. So of course, I am scared.
But before any such hospitalization occurs, I wanted to write this blog – desperately needed to write it – to share my revelation about humanity.
We’re not permanently divided after all.
I feel like a member of a group I thought had disbanded. After the past year of screeching, horrible conflicts over issues and morals and intangibles, culminating with raging debates about masks, it turns out that we are all just spiritual beings having a human experience.
I am suddenly a human taking part in the human race.
No matter where I have turned and announced my (leper-like) diagnosis, I have been enveloped in kindness and care. Friends on Facebook – distant and close – have sincerely wished me well, and are praying for me. Close, dear relatives – and friends of the family who barely know me – are all praying for me. Prayers are free and easy; but to me, they are like angels lifting my heart and my spirits and giving me reasons to embrace life. I can’t thank anyone enough for their prayers.
My husband has done yeoman’s duty on my behalf, although I’ve barely spoken to him. I’ve been too busy on the phone with my stepson, my closest friends, my parents, and my sons. My sister bought me a pulse oximeter so that I would have it when I need it – and I feel like she pulled a star from the sky and handed it to me.
Strangers are helping me, too. Wendy, the survey worker from MARYLAND COVID, called to follow up on my positive test results. I said, “This actually makes me feel like somebody cares.” And she said, “I do! That’s why I do this job!” And I believe her. She used to do search and rescue for lost pets, but her dog has aged out of the system.
Coincidentally last week, I found a new Facebook friend who had a peaceful, fun page, so I sent her a note. She apologized for taking a couple of hours to respond and said she was recovering from COVID. So when I got my diagnosis, I messaged her in desperation: “What can I expect?” And she helped me to prepare for everything. Since that message, she checks on me twice a day. She’s a total ray of light during this dark time – a kind-hearted soul who gives just because she can.
I even emailed a librarian and got a thoughtful, personal response, telling me her own story and her worries about her college-aged son, out on his own in this mess. “I hope your symptoms stay mild, your recovery is swift, and no symptoms linger.” This total stranger, too, said her family would keep my family in their prayers.
Now the angels are everywhere.