Collected Item: “Mental Breakdown”
Give your story or documents a proposed title
Mental Breakdown
Tell us a story; share your experience. Or describe the item you are submitting. What does the object or story you've uploaded say about the pandemic, and/or why is it important to you?
My sister, Heidi, passed away in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2020. I wasn’t allowed to be with her when she died. My sister was my best friend. I was so lost. Her children, Significant other, my mother, her best friend, and I couldn’t have a funeral for her because of the rules put into place for Covid. So, we could not have a memorial for her till and year and four months later. At the same time, everything began to shut down. My husband works for the NYPD; I was terrified of him getting sick and losing him. Every day after he left for work, I would fall on the floor and break down in tears. I live next to a nursing home facility on Beach 119th St. in Rockaway Park. At this time, I would stare out my windows to look at the ocean to try to calm myself. For weeks, I would see out the right side of my windows and the ambulances and medical examiner vans showing up non-stop to the nursing home for ten days. Bodies were being taken out morning, noon, and night. The flashing red lights signaled that my mental health was in danger. I felt myself crashing many times. I was devasted. To this day, I carry so much internal trauma, I don’t know if I’ll ever recover. I hate this world and the cruel people in it. People have become so ugly because of Covid. I doubt I’ll ever be able to escape the mental anguish that lives in my soul...
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.? And where did you find it?
text story, video
Are you the sole creator of these materials? Then select "I am sole creator." If no, please select "I have co-creators" and list the names of the content co-creators, their contact information, and the circumstances of how you came to have the materials. IMPORTANT: Each co-creator must fill out this form in order for the item to be accepted by the archives. However, only one co-creator is required to upload any document.)
I am sole creator
Name of the item creator, unless anonymous
Anna Spreckels Gualda
Use tags (separated by commas) to describe your story or documents. For example: Does it relate to a particular neighborhood? Does it relate to a particular aspect of the pandemic: school, work, family, hospital.
Rockaway Park, Beach 119th street, Death
Give a date associated with this story or documents.
2020-03-24
What is your affiliation, if any, with Brooklyn College? (e.g. Junior undergrad majoring in history; faculty in the English Dept; human resources staff member; alumni; community member; Brooklyn resident; etc.)
Brooklyn College undergrad - major Health and Nutrtion
If what you are submitting was created as part of a Brooklyn College class, please indicate the course code (i.e., ENG1010) semester, and professor:
HNSC 2100
Select this box to agree to the Creative Commons NC-ND license as described in the above Submission Agreement.
I agree to a CC-ND-NC Licence