Items

• 2020-04-08

  Impressive experience

  When the Covid-19 outbreak first started in New York, it was unfortunate that all of my family was positive. In March 2020, after someone in New York was diagnosed positive, my family did not want me to go out and during that time I was in high school and working part-time. My family including most relatives also started not to work and quarantined at home. One day, one of my aunts came to my house with a cold and a cough, but we didn't think much of it because she just got the flu shot so we figured it might be the aftermath of the shot. After two or three days, we started to have different symptoms. I remember I started with a sore throat, a headache, a fever, and then lost my sense of taste and smell. My relatives also showed different degrees of symptoms, and my grandma had the most severe symptoms. She first had a sore throat, a cold, and a low-grade fever, and then she kept having diarrhea and couldn't eat which caused her to lose almost 10 pounds in just one week. During that time, one of my aunts came to take care of my grandma. Throughout the duration of my grandma being ill my aunt was running on only a few hours of sleep per day since she had to keep an eye over my grandma. I remember that the hospitals in New York were full at that time, many patients died without receiving treatment, and refrigerated trucks were parked outside the hospital to store the dead bodies of patients. The TV news also showed that many people were protesting against the announcement of masks being mandatory when going out. None of them believed that Covid-19 would be serious enough to kill people, and this frustrated me, making me feel the urge to express my feelings towards how serious this virus is. I saw that my grandma's condition was getting worse and worse. We also thought about calling an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but we were afraid that we would not get treatment and we would not be able to visit the hospital. We felt very hopeless. We were on the last straw, thus we were all discussing that if grandma didn't show any signs of improvement the next day, our last resort is to have my grandma sent to the hospital. As a result, the following day, my grandma started to eat and did not continue to have a fever, and her condition began to improve. Overall, Covid-19 has brought my family a lot of distress and I am glad that Covid-19 has started to settle and everything is slowly getting back to normal again.
• 
  2020-02-18

  Patients and Patience

  I spent the majority of 2019 in Afghanistan. As far as deployments go, it was as busy as it was rewarding. I spent my days providing medical care to the local Afghans which included the handling of war wounds, managing chronic diseases, or treating any number of the infectious diseases that are endemic to the Middle East. My day-to-day activities had me in regular contact with sick people, and it was my responsibility to help them. Later in the year, a sickness began to go around. Across the country service members and civilians alike were coming down with what was presumed to be the flu. With consistently negative tests, however, medical professionals began looking to other causes for the wide range of symptoms people were suffering from. When I got sick, I lost my voice for a month and could barely walk out of my room without losing my breath and so I resolved to spending my time lying in bed and watching movies. When I returned home from Afghanistan in early 2020, I still wasn’t quite recovered. Unfortunately, my homecoming was not an elaborate affair as my wife and children were waiting for me in Texas where they had spent my deployment near family. The plan was for me to visit until it was time for me to move down there as well. I still suffered from shortness of breath and one day, shortly after returning, I nearly passed out on a light jog, and I knew something was wrong. I was scheduled to visit my wife and kids in the coming weeks, excited to see them after my deployment, but my unknown sickness had other plans in mind. At this point in the year, COVID was in its infancy, there hadn’t been any lockdowns or travel restrictions, only the lingering concern that this new disease could become a problem. So, naturally, when I went in to see the doctors for my persistent symptoms, it was an easy assumption that I had caught COVID early while in Afghanistan in the months prior. While investigating the cause of my ongoing issues, they found a nodule in my lungs. Apparently, my weakened immune system and constant contact with severely sick patients had resulted in me contracting tuberculosis. I was now a high-risk patient. The ironic thing is that my newly diagnosed condition was contagious, and not being near my family prevented me from spreading it to my wife or kids. So much for visiting family after my deployment. Over the next few months, I was treated with heavy duty antibiotics that left me puking in the mornings and unable to leave my house, which became easier and easier as COVID gripped the world. Flights were canceled and lockdowns were enforced while I facetimed my family 1,500 miles away. After my treatment was complete, I eagerly drove home on empty roads to see my family for the first time since I had left the year prior. I would intermittently make the drive a few more times before I made the official move down later that year. Three years later, I still remember, as I’m sure we all do, the frustrations that were ever-present at the height of the pandemic. I remember my own frustrations at the difficulty of traveling down to see my kids, something that hadn’t been part of our well laid plans before my deployment. I remember having to explain to three young children why I couldn’t come home and helping my wife explain why they could no longer go to the park, to school, or hang out with their friends. In the end, however, I am grateful. I am grateful because I am able to teach them, through their own personal experiences, that we are all in this together. When they express annoyance at ongoing COVID policies, which cost them personal convenience, I can recount to them the sacrifices they made in order to keep us all safe from my sickness as well as COVID. They have learned that being patient and considerate is as much for everyone’s else’s sake as much as their own and it’s a lesson that has translated across their lives today.
• 
  2022-07-24

  Fear for My Mother's Saefty

  I've written a short story centered around my experience with fear of this virus, particularly focusing on how my fear is heighten with an immuno-compromised mother. I wrote about how the media the people around me consumed affected their behavior and played a role within my fear and the impact it had on my mother. This story says two things about this pandemic I think: it shows the impact that information had/has on how people approach the virus and the emotional toll the pandemic had on people living their daily lives. What I've submitted is important because it validates what Americans have experienced. Many Americans
• 
  2021-11-29

  Are you sick and experiencing COVID 19 symptoms?

  The public was or maybe still is a lot more fearful of contracting COVID 19. If you were sick at you were advised to stay at home and work due to fear of contracting the virus. This image identifies some ways to know if you or someone may be infected with COVID 19.
• 
  2021-09-16

  How I Adapted

  Starting a new chapter in your life can always be a little stressful simply because of the new change it brings. Coming from a farming county, I had just begun becoming comfortable moving into a big city during my freshman year of college. Second semester rolled around and out of nowhere COVID-19 immediately impacted my life. My once comfortable lifestyle I have adapted to in the big city changed back to my home where I started online classes. This was quite unusual because I had never taken any online classes and found myself struggling to learn from a screen rather than in-person classes. Weeks went by where I struggled to pay attention and succeed in the “classroom”. Although challenging, I adapted to something unfamiliar in my life and found my niche to succeed in a new environment once again. Adapting to something new can certainly be challenging for people. COVID taught people to adapt to something new in their lives. It brought people together in the community in ways that I had not thought possible. One example of this is when I found out my grandma of 88 years of age became ill with COVID. It was an unfortunate event for my family that took a toll on all of us when we first heard about the news. It became real. Real enough to worry, real enough to take action. Real enough to show the importance of family in times of pain and struggle. Our family had to adapt to my grandmother’s lifestyle for the next couple of months. This meant no big grandma hugs for 5 months until her body recovered from this foreign virus. This took some getting used to as I had not realized the real impact of COVID and perhaps did not see it as dangerous as I thought. Again, I adapted. I adapted to realize that the people around you can make situations like this less painstakingly hard. The comfort and prayers received from family and friends made it comforting to know people cared and were there for me and my family. COVID was something that impacted everyone in different ways. Just remember people listen and people are there.
• 
  2021-08-23

  Jones County, Georgia

  A friend of mine shared her experience with how her child’s school is handling the pandemic and exposure when kids test positive for Covid. She also shared the short conversation with her child’s teacher after receiving an email from the school.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Bronx Zoo Tiger Is Sick With the Coronavirus

  A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has been infected with the coronavirus, in what is believed to be a case of what one official called “human-to-cat transmission.” “There is no evidence that other animals in other areas of the zoo are showing symptoms,” the Agriculture Department said. A pet cat in Belgium recently tested positive for the coronavirus, but the American Veterinary Medical Association said that not enough was known to change the current view that neither cats nor dogs appear to be able to pass the virus to people. The World Organisation for Animal Health says that there is no evidence that cats or dogs spread the disease to humans, but that anyone who is sick should take precautions in contact with their animals as they would with people.
• 
  2020-02-14

  Happy Valentine's Day! We have COVID!

  For Valentine's Day 2021, I gave my boyfriend COVID! What a great gift, right? The week before I started to feel down, congested, and I had a sore throat. As it was mid-February, I thought it was just a regular cold, like I get every year. So I really thought it was no big deal, so my boyfriend and I spent the weekend together like normal. But on Feb 14th, I woke up, got in the shower, and realized I couldn't smell any of my soaps! I ran out of the shower in a panic and went to the kitchen to smell all the food we had. I couldn't smell the onion, the salsa, the garlic powder, the coffee...nothing! So we decided to cancel our date plans for the day and went to get tested. My test came back positive so we went in the quarantine together, as we had spent the last four days together. At this point, I was getting exponentially sicker and laid in bed for the next 5 days. About 3 days after I lost my sense of smell, I lost my sense of taste, but only for about 24 hours. What a terrible week! Hopefully, Valentine's Day 2022 is better for us!
• 
  2021-03-20

  Virus Diary 2020-2021

  A roughly week-by week account of the pandemic's effects on my family, community, workplace and nation.
• 
  2020-08-17

  Surprise Birthday Driveby

  It was my 64th Birthday and I was down and out on the couch with Corona Virus. I got a phoncall from my daughter asking me to go to the front window. I told her I could barely get off the couch and I had a fever. She told me to bring my phone and video tape my grandson skateboarding. He had just learned a few new tricks. So I managed to make it to the window and to my surprise horns started blowing and cars began driving by my front window. It was a Birthday drive by ! I was in shock. They truly fooled me ! At first I couldn't tell who all these people were but after they circled around a couple of times I began recognizing people. It was my family and friends. They came from as far as Los Angeles County. Even my 96 year old mother was there ! I truly felt love
• 2020-01-28

  Forced Quarantine

  Earlier this year, during my winter break, my brother was sent home two days before his high school finals. Someone in his class that he sat next/near to had contracted COVID, so as a precaution, he was sent home to quarantine. My brother was less worried about possibly having COVID himself, and more angry about having to make up his finals the next quarter (speaks a lot about our education system). I asked him who was the person that got COVID, and he said it was probably the girl behind him, but she said she didn't have it, and her friend that sat next to her backed it up. We drew out the seating chart and concluded that it HAD to be that girl, because everyone who was sent to quarantine was sitting around her. I told him that she probably just lied about not having COVID, because people would probably get mad at her. I personally would get angry myself if I was prevented from taking my finals, but I understand the girl's reasoning. No want wants to be bullied for getting sick, or called "COVID-girl," or whatever.
• 2021-01-21

  symptoms

  My REDACTED teacher came down with the covid 19 virus. He said that he had a fever, chills, and felt really sick. So, he went to the doctors office and got tested, he was positive. He called the school and said he couldn't come because he was sick. We were all worried for him but he is doing just fine now. My family has been spared from covid, non of our family members have had it thankfully.
• 2021-01-11

  The cause of Covid-19

  This is how I think Covid started. Covid has been a thing for a very long time but it was never carried by humans. It was actually carried by bats! The way the sickness actually started was someone killed a bat and then made it into a soup and ate it! When he ate it the sickness some how transported into his body. Then he got corona and spread it, and now it is a world wide sickness that has the world scared.
• 2020-12-09

  covid 19 2020

  this year has been really rough because of covid. This year has probably been the worst covid has changed a lot because they have made us go to lockdown and wear masks which really sucks were all worried about getting sick we have to stay away from friends we can't go anywhere or do anything without a mask and there just uncomfortable 2020 has been the worst year so hopefully this ends soon.
• 
  2020-08-15

  Jess with Covid

  It shows that COVID is real and that it is serious. My roommate was infected with the virus and she got really sick. In the picture she was on the bathroom floor and this is because she was very nauseous and if she wasn't in the bathroom, the whole apartment would've been a mess. We checked up on her constantly to ensure she was okay and we would cook for her. She had to quarantine in her room for 2 weeks since she moved in before us so we didn't have to quarantine as long as her but it was still not a fun time. She is seen smiling in the picture but that is just because we tried to lift up her spirits so she wasn't miserable the entire illness.
• 
  2020-08-30

  Tweets from Inside a Prison 08/30-09/05/2020 by Railroad Underground

  These images show the Tweets of an incarcerated person utilizing a contraband cell phone to let the outside world know about prison conditions during the pandemic. This week he talks about forever loosing his right to vote because he is now a felon, the logic of incarceration where people are told everyday how worthless they are as a way to make them "fit" into society, the daily request he receives to send or receive messages on his contraband cell phone, that the phone represents hope, a dream about Donald Trump, he never had role models growing up but now has them inside prison and they are other incarcerated people, and his greatest fear is not knowing. He says that used to relate to not knowing when he would get out, or if his parents would die before he is released but Covid has changed this into not knowing when he will be allowed to shower or get a bar of soap.
• 2020-08-10

  How COVID-19 Affected Me in 2020

  2020 started off just like any other year. I was gearing up for my last on campus semester and continuing my job search for when I graduated. This was the year that I told myself that everything was going to fall into place. This was going to be the year that I found an apartment by myself, bought myself a new car, find my career, and get financially stable. Then i started hearing about the Coronavirus across seas, and I did not think much of it. I did not think that it would result in me being unemployed at age 22 and as a recent (almost) college graduate. However, I think the pandemic is almost what I needed, and what a lot of people needed. All throughout college I was working one if not two jobs while going to school full-time. It was stressful and overwhelming most of the time. I had bills to pay and ambitions to fill. In March of 2020, I secured a job within the hospitality industry, thinking this was something I would be truly happy doing. About a week later, I was furloughed from that job and my serving job due to COVID-19. I took this time to focus on my studies and finish up the semester. That first week was rainy so it almost felt right. Then another week passes, and another, and another. Until finally, I started receiving unemployment. I was filled with panic through the media and refused to leave my house in fear that I was going to die if I breathed the same air as another infected person. After that, I drove to my dads house in California in a rental car. I needed to get out of my small apartment and be with family. While I was there, my stepmom gifted me with her old car as she had bought a new one. I was shocked and overwhelmed with happiness. Fast forward a couple months and my lease was ending. I was searching for studio apartments to live in but was worried I was not going to get accepted due to being unemployed. I considered moving back home to Minnesota where my mom resides and where I went to high school. This was something that I did not want to do as I had established my own life, completely independent, out in Arizona. To add another factor was that my boyfriend lives in Arizona and I did not want to move away from him but our relationship was too new to move in together. One night, as I was laying in bed crying due to the overwhelming amount of stress that took over my mind about finding somewhere to live that I could afford and that was safe, I got a text from my stepdad. He asked if I would be interested in them purchasing a condo and I would pay them rent. This was something I was not expecting and was so grateful for, as this meant I did not have to go through the application process myself. I end up finding a place and move in end of July. Three weeks prior to moving in, my boyfriend gets infected with COVID-19. Now, I felt fine. I stayed inside for two weeks waiting for symptoms to show up. 11 days after exposure to the virus, I lost my sense of smell and taste. That was the only symptom I had, but after waiting a week and a half to get my test results, they came back negative. Although I was relieved, I did not, and still do not, believe that those test results were accurate. I slept in the same bed as my boyfriend the night before he came down with COVID-19 symptoms. There was no other explanation for why I lost my sense of smell or taste. During this time period, I put my fate in the hands of God to protect me. I prayed that I would be okay, and although my panic had subsided, I knew that I could trust God. 2020 has been a very rocky road, but I have accomplished so much throughout this year and I am grateful that I was able to experience this. I still hope and pray for the people who are losing their lives and losing loved ones, but it is just a matter of time before this subsides.
• 
  2020-03-18

  Swiss female live streamer licks trash can, says she wants to get the virus.

  On March 18, 2020, the Swiss female live streamer has official announced that she has been infected with the coronavirus, and has been isolated treatment. More than ten days, she has been trying to infect the coronavirus. After ten days of efforts, she finally fulfilled her goal.
• 
  2020-07-22

  The Food Industry Has a Well Known Secret

  This meme created from a Facebook post has been making the rounds among food industry people. It's a well-known secret that food workers don't take sick days so why would they start now? If you've ever worked in food service you know you don't call in sick even when you are violating food safety rules. It's hard to find a job in food service, it's even harder to keep that job, and you can't afford to lose that job.
• 
  2020-05-30

  EFECTIVO POLICIAL CAE EN LA PUERTA DE HOSPITAL

  El hecho ocurrió en el Centro de Salud de Salaverry en Trujillo. El policía retornaba de almorzar pero al presentar malestar en su salud decidió acudir al centro médico más cercano, su malestar empeoró justo cuando llegaba a dicho hospital y cayó tendido al suelo. En estos momentos se encuentra siendo atendido en el centro de Salud, donde también se le realizará la prueba para descartar el coronavirus.
• 
  2020-04-04

  Together Apart

  My wife and I live in a spacious two story home in a wonderful suburb of Los Angeles overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Bay. We are both 75 years of age, born 12 days apart. She returned from a volunteer trip to Tanzania March 5th when word of the corona virus was just becoming known. March 11th she became sick. Our doctor did not think she had the corona virus but recommended we practice safe distancing given our age and the unknowns about the virus. I moved downstairs in the house and lived in 3 rooms. She remained in the bedroom since she was ill and needed to rest. Thankfully we had the room to make this adjustment in our lives. The closest I came to her was standing about five feet from her bedroom door to say Good Morning or Good Night or chat for brief periods. We talked on our cell phones a few times but it proved too strange and did not accomplish the feeling of togetherness we hoped. We have lived apart in the same house since March 11th. She is better but still not all the way back to normal. This past Saturday marked the first time we were in the same room together since March 11th although we maintained the six foot separation. We have no complaints. Luckily we both have our health and she is getting her strength back. We have attempted to use our time well. She has become a history student and taken classes offered via our public broadcasting station. I have written a novel, just completed it Saturday. We both have become devotees of the old movies offered by TCM. Our Governor and our Mayor have done an outstanding job communicating with us and we faithfully follow all guidelines in hopes this pandemic will soon be under control. Our short term goal: we are close to the day when we can hug each other. Our long term goal: a vaccine is developed to make the world safe from this disease.
• 
  2020-03-26

  Coronavirus Eyes

  I was diagnosed with Coronavirus a little over two weeks later but I had just started to feel the symptoms. My wife swears that everyone she has seen (herself, me and people on television) have these very distinctive puffy Coronavirus eyes. It is May 3, 2020 and I have finally tested negative and my eyes are no longer swollen. I think she may be on to something. #HST643
• 
  2020-03-20

  Getting on our repatriation flight to London from Marrakech Morocco.

  Excited our flight out of Morocco to London was really leaving. We missed video taping the cheers when it landed. The flight was packed and we still did not have an onward flight home, but with London not closing down like Morocco, we knew we would have more options. We did finally make it home to Orlando via JFK and the joy was short lived because the virus crisis in America was clearly not being taken seriously and 9 days after we left Morocco we had Coronavirus. Although we could not get tested for another two weeks because America had no tests. #HST643 Scott________ & wife Tammy ________
• 
  2020-05-02

  Covid-19 Pandemic, what does the future hold?

  Predictions of a second wave of Covid-19 #HST643
• 
  2020-04-29

  41 days

  A personal account of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-28

  REL_Life During a Pandemic

  This is a short story about how my life has been effected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Story of my isolation

  Isolation in Russia
• 
  2020-04-24

  An Unseen First Wave

  As more evidence seems to mount that there were deaths in the United States from COVID-19 long before the first "official" death in the country was announced, I become more and more convinced that I already had it.
• 
  2020-05-24

  Analei _________, my best friend 03/12/2019 imagine was taken

  These photographs explain how someone can be taken from you so fast, as I said earlier Analei did not pass, she is very fortunate because of how many people have been losing their lives due to COVID-19. When I heard the news I freaked out I called her mother and asked her if she was okay, the crazy part is she thinks she got it at a party she went to which what’s weird is that I went to it as well, I was fine and she wasn’t, I personally felt guilty and I was really sad for days and made sure she was okay, since so many people have been getting tested for corona virus the government were very low on test, which meant she had to wait and thankfully found out it was certainly positive, a week has gone by and she was starting to get better, I was so glad. The second photograph is a picture of a doctor, and this shows how every nurse, and doctors have risked their lives for us every day and you start to really see who’s the hero. *The primarily responsible for making this resource would be me, Sofia __________ I am coming to everyone as a human to make sure everyone is safe and healthy *In this time, March 2019 was the month of our graduation into becoming adults and into college students ready for a life, I put a photograph of my friend Analei who was recently tested positive for COVID-19, she is a amazing person and usually most of the bad luck always comes to her for some reason. *Analei _________ and Sofia __________ also her mom ___________ ____________ *The genre of this resource is to show how someone can be taken from you so easily, (even though Analei did not pass) we all had a bit of a scare when we heard the news, her mom took this picture of her as a graduation announcement, little did we know this would happen in our world.
• 
  04/18/2020

  Masks Reveal the Struggle Ahead

  I added this because, as frustrated as I am about the continued practice of physical distancing and because I am concerned about the economy, the science surrounding the virus is clear: too easily transmitted, not enough tests, and widespread ignorance. This photo and post spoke to me. From the post that goes with it: "Here’s what I can tell you after 5 days of taking care of COVID19 patients sick enough to need the hospital but not sick enough to need the ICU: this is the weirdest fucking virus I have ever seen (except maybe HIV). The constellation of symptoms that we see is honestly mind boggling. The people who seem fine and the crash. The people who I think will crash but are fine. The people who have absolutely none of the most common symptoms. The people who check every box on the symptom list. At this point everyone has it until proven otherwise (twice). The surge is on, and we are holding steady. It is *just* manageable. We are doing it but with stress to the teams and the system. If you think the country is ready for business as usual, I disagree. We aren’t there yet. We need tests (yes. We stillllllll can’t test everyone). We need a vaccine. And we need effective medication. We are working our asses of. We need more time. Thank you so much for staying home!!!"