Today is 02/02/2021, and I just got back in the office after a half month of isolation.
Last January 12, my mom was brought to the hospital in Cabanatuan City due to continuous vomiting and a terrible headache. My sister, a doctor, told me that we need to go to Cabanatuan City to take care of my mom. So my sister, my fiancé, and I rushed to her side. We got there around 1 a.m., and my sister took care of her all night in the hospital.
On the other hand, my fiancé and I went straight to the apartment in Cabanatuan City, where my brother is currently staying with my mom. My brother has a seizure disorder, and he is considered a PWD; that is why he also needs to be monitored. We slept together with my brother in an air-conditioned room that night. The morning after my mom’s CT scan, my sister and the attending doctor advised us to transfer my mom to St. Luke’s Quezon City, which has an acute stroke unit, because they saw something in my mom’s head, a small hemorrhage, so we panicked because it might indicate an aneurysm. We were able to arrange the transfer by ambulance, with my sister riding with her. Since no one will take care of my brother, I decided to bring him to Parañaque, where I stay with my uncle, a senior citizen with heart illness. My uncle kindly allowed my brother to stay in the house while my mother was confined.
As part of the admission protocol, my mom got tested for COVID-19. She tested positive for the virus. We were all shocked since she was never symptomatic. Thus, everyone she had contact with for the last 48 hours needed to be quarantined and monitored for 14 days.
We did not know what to do; it all happened so fast like everyone from our family got emotional. Until I realized that my brother, who lives with my mom, who I brought to my uncle’s house, could also be positive. The next morning, my brother and I went to Makati Medical Center to take the swab test. Around 8 p.m., we got the results. I got a negative result, but my brother tested positive for COVID-19. Upon hearing the results, my uncle wanted us out of his house immediately.
Upon my mother’s advice, my brother and I decided to go back Cabanatuan City and do the quarantine there. She said that many people would help us there. When we arrived, my brother started his isolation in one room. On the other hand, I listed all the plans and all the things we needed, such as groceries, to survive the quarantine. My mom is a department head in a local government unit in Cabanatuan City and her staff helped us get the things that we needed. They provided PPE, food and medicines. It was so touching. I appreciated them a lot since they were not scared of us and even dedicated their time to helped us during our quarantine. I was also working remotely; it was hard for me to do everything. I learned how to cook and clean my brother’s chamber pot so we could limit his movements out of the room. We did video calls to know what is happening to him inside the room from time to time. And good thing he was doing okay, except that he has coughs and colds. Those were the only symptoms he had.
My mom, on the other hand, was released from the hospital last January 17 and continued her isolation in a hotel in Cabanatuan City. After the quarantine period, all of us three got tested thru a rapid test. My mom and I got a negative result; however, my brother was still positive. My mom decided to go back home to help me take care of my brother. However, I am hesitant because she still might carry the virus since it was not a swab test. The house has only two rooms, so my mom decided to sleep on the sofa until I returned to Manila. Moving forward, I got swabbed last January 29 and got a negative result, so I decided to return to Manila, February 1. We are still waiting for the next rapid test of my brother, and hopefully, he will be alright.
So why did I tell my COVID story? Based on my readings, Integral Human Development (IHD) promotes the good of every person and the whole person. And with my experience, I have seen the goodness of each person who helped us with open arms. And I think that is integrality: to be complete, you need to do something for other people especially loved ones. I took the risk to take care for them without thinking that I might be infected too, but due to God’s will, He did not let me have it.
Also, as Pope Francis wrote, IHD involves “integrating individuality and community dimensions. The self and the community are not in competition with each other, but the self can mature only in the presence of authentic relationships, and the community is generative when its members are, together and individually. This is even more applicable to the family, which is the first cell of society and where we learn to live together.” I agree with him, and I believe my family and I have been integrated into the community through my experience. Without them, we would not have succeeded in this COVID journey.
This pandemic has been very hard for everyone. By praying hard and trusting God, we remain hopeful. Keep the faith strong, and everything will be ok in God’s time. Just wait and see God’s power. We can survive this!
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. This article is part of her blog for the course Integral Human Development.
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators