A week from diagnosis of COVID-19, I was in the hospital

I still believe we can rise to the occasion, especially with principled, kind leadership nudging us, guiding us from the top. I have high hopes for our ability and willingness to protect one another. It is, in fact, our only option to defeat this virus, which has already stolen so much.

By

Opinion

November 18, 2020 - 10:12 AM

Photo by Pixabay

I got the call on a Tuesday that my COVID-19 test came back positive, and my mind raced to two places: my kids and my heart.

My kids because I feared they, too, were infected. (How could they not be? I work from home, they school from home. Laughing, singing cheek-to-cheek dance parties are standard in our kitchen.)

My heart because I already have a heart condition brought on by a virus. I had viral meningitis in 2011 and, a cardiologist surmised, my body sent fluid to my organs to protect them. The sac of fluid near my heart never reabsorbed, so I live with a pericardial effusion that has neither shrunk nor grown in the past 9 years. It’s a minor inconvenience, but a nagging reminder that viruses can do unexpected, lasting damage to your organs.

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