The Reality Of Covid-19

Back in March when all of this craziness broke out in Kelowna, my parents were in Cuba. Yeah, you read that correctly. It was my mom’s spring break since she is a teacher back in my home town of Trail, BC. My dad had taken time off work to go, and my aunt and uncle were joining them. Christmas of 2019 before this all started my sister, parents, and myself had all gone to Cuba over the holidays and loved it so much that my parents wanted to go back without us for some adult time. I remember the night I drove from my apartment in Kelowna down to the Best Western to meet them as they had just arrived in Kelowna late that night for their flight early the next morning. Things hadn’t broken out just yet, but I had been to the nail salon earlier that week and it was only still in China. I watched the TV screens in there while getting my nails done and remember saying to my nail tech something along the lines of “Wow, that’s crazy,” like I never imagined it would make its way to Canada in the time that it did, or frankly ever. Anyways, as I was visiting my parents, my mother had made the comment “Could you imagine if we had to quarantine or something in Cuba? I mean it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” The four adults and me chuckled at her comment and not a thought of this actually happening really crossed my mind. After a few hours and a dinner out I headed back to my apartment, wished my parents a safe flight and a lovely trip. To my knowledge, this was going to be the best trip ever for them, being the first time my parents have gone on a tropical trip without me and my sister. No one thought it would make its way around the world in the short amount of time that it did. Little did I know, all hell would break loose as soon as they arrived in Cuba.

A few days after, my sister called me sick. When my sister gets sick it’s not just a small deal. In previous years she has had mono, pneumonia, strep, you name it, and never usually complains either. When she first had mono my family and I were on vacation and we all thought she just had a cold, and so did the nurses there. When we arrived home, the nurses told her she had mono and walking pneumonia. My mother felt terrible for not knowing or feeling as much sympathy as she probably should have that trip for my sister. She did every activity we had planned for that trip and rarely complained about feeling unwell.

When my sister had called me telling me she was sick while my parents were off in Cuba, I coincidentally was getting my nails done again. I picked up the phone thinking it would be a normal phone call only to hear her gasping for air and balling her eyes out. She was really sick, and had gone to the doctor earlier that day to see if she had strep, mono, or possibly Covid, which hadn’t even reached Kelowna yet, but it was getting close. The doctor had said, “We can’t test you for Covid because we don’t have the supplies to do so yet.” My sister replied with “Well you don’t think it’s Covid, do you?” And of course, the doctor replied with “It could be.” As any nineteen year old or human in this first state of panic about Covid, with her sister in Kelowna, parents in Cuba, and stuck at home alone she blew into full panic mode. While she was telling me this on the phone I told her there’s no way she has Covid only to get the most panicked, disgusted looks from everyone in the nail salon. After me and my roommate were finished with our nails, I called my sister back in the car and told her I would come home to take care of her, but I was also finishing up school for the semester, and so was she. She convinced me to stay in Kelowna, but that day was hell.

I am not kidding when I say as soon as my parents got to Cuba was when everything broke loose. After texting my mom back and forth telling her how the news was going nuts with outbreaks first in Canada, then Vancouver, and then closer and closer to Kelowna. Me and my roommate saw pictures on every social media platform of toilet paper supplies being completely gone and then we really started to panic. We headed to Superstore prepared to buy many perishables in preparation to basically not leave the house. I sent my mother photos of the isles we encountered with no soup, toilet paper, or any sort of canned items left for us.

Photos by Chanel Orr

This was scary for me, and I soon became worried about my little sister back in Trail. I thought if there’s nothing left in Kelowna, what will a small town like Trail be like? My roommate and myself ended up grabbing packaged soups, something I would never have normally grabbed and whatever else we could get our hands on. This was so crazy to me and living alone I didn’t have any idea how to handle this.

Later that day my mother had called me from Cuba freaking out. She was afraid they actually would have to quarantine in Cuba, and the thought of airlines shutting down and not being able to get back home worried her even more. This is the day I truly started to panic. I sat in my apartment with my roommate, the only person keeping me sane at this point as we spent our days watching the numbers go up on the television and texting every person we knew to see how they were handling this insanity.

My parents ended up making it home from Cuba a week later in a panic. I did not see them after they arrived back in Kelowna as they headed straight home to quarantine for two weeks as they were told. I facetimed them every day which I never usually do. We were all going crazy, and I felt like I really wanted my parents to be around at this point.

A few weeks went by of keeping our bubbles small, doing grocery shops as little as possible, and picking up new hobbies to keep us entertained besides school work. I think the only good thing about April was that I did significantly better in school once it was transferred online because no one knew how to restructure their classes so many of my finals were open book. Me and my roommate tie-dyed many articles of clothing for fun, and made this new whipped coffee recipe almost every day. I have to say it was delicious, and about the only thing I looked forward to every morning during the insanity.

Photo by Chanel Orr

Now it is November 2020, almost December, we have been online since the beginning of the semester and let me just say, Covid sucks. I remember thinking when this all happened it would be a month, maybe two of this virus and now it has been several. I feel as though my mental health has been a rollercoaster this year, adjusting to school being online, being stuck in my apartment, and wanting so badly to get myself in shape at the gym but also worrying there could be an outbreak there. I feel like my mind is constantly saying “Screw Covid, I’m sick of it” because I miss my friends, social life, being active and more, and on the other hand I am frankly just scared of it. I get worried many times when I am out in public and get scared that a mask is the only thing that can protect me from the virus currently. I also feel like I am constantly judged in our world right now. You are judged if you do or don’t believe masks help, and you are judged if you are for or against getting the Covid vaccine that is supposed to be arriving soon. It is complete madness. This year has made many people adjust their lives. This virus, school being online, feeling very alone at times and much more has turned my life upside down. I have learned to adjust to these changes as we all have had to do. I can’t help but wonder what our world will look like in a few years from now. Some of the things Covid has taught me have made me think, why haven’t I thought to wash my hands after that before? For example, after pumping my gas. This is a big one, and actually something I will forever do from now on being that it is pretty gross. I’d probably pick up a sandwich and lick my fingers without even thinking before this pandemic. Long story short, we are going to get through this together. My advice to all my fellow peers reading this is to make time for yourself. Write in a personal journal daily to organize your thoughts, do some self care, eat some good food, maybe learn some new recipes, and most importantly do what makes you happy right now. For me, this is decorating early for Christmas as of November 10th because why not make the best holiday last  a little longer in this crazy year? I think we all deserve it.