THE COVID-19 Pandemic- My Personal Story

OUR knowledge of the pandemic began on a frigid December day, 2019 in Fargo, North Dakota
where north winds clocked at 40 mph and large, flat snowflakes whipped directionless outside
our windows, collecting on roofs and curbs. My fiancé rushed off to work. I was lucky enough to
have a nice savings, so I hustled off to shop for useless Christmas décor. Normal living.

That night, we gathered on the couch to listen to the news about a new virus in China, that made
7 people sick. They told us it was from some market. We brushed it off because that’s China,
we’re here and it didn’t affect us-a typical household thought. Around January or February of
2020, I read news online of Hong Kong customers emptying out store’s toilet paper shelves. As
much I knew this was irrational, something sparked a panic in me-prepare for a toilet paper
shortage. It was the least of our concerns as we were to find out, but I went to my local drug
store and stocked up on toilet paper. Remember what I just said about how other countries don’t
affect us? Scratch that thought from your mind. It’s important to watch what other countries do.
If you see them reacting, it’s wise to act accordingly. The term, “The Butterfly Effect” kept
running through my head at the beginning of all this.

The end of February was uneventful. I had grown tired of my 18 year car and decided to see
about buying a new vehicle. It had already taken me years and many visits to other dealers to
find what I didn’t want. I decided to just make up my mind and buy a new car. I pulled up to a
dealer, saw a silver bullet with a mean grill parked right in the front and I claimed it. The
paperwork took a couple days, though. In the meantime, my throat became increasingly sore. It
felt like fire when I swallowed, a never before felt sensation. Ill, I went back to the car dealership
and finished closing the paper work to get my car. I was feverish. Barely conscious to make a
financial decision. My fiancé and my mother went along. Both were also feeling not so great, but
were excited for my new buy. By now, we heard how the Coronavirus had invaded Washington
and Buffalo, New York. We treated it as a traveling salesman-not here yet. So, I proudly drove
my new beauty home. My new car. Instead of driving it around town though, I drove it straight
inside the garage because I was feeling tired, sweaty and sick. This fever lasted 30 days. I had a
cough that caused shortness of breath, a fever that would not break, a wheeze that whistled with
every exhale. My fiancé had body aches, a fever. His lasted a week. My mom, at the same time,
had a fever. Her ‘cold’ acted different though. She had a dry cough but her lungs sounded full.
She vomited a volume I had never seen before. I decided we both should visit a doctor, so that
Tuesday, we did. Our issues were dismissed as bronchitis. There was no test for Coronavirus at
that time, so if we had it, we’ll never know. Two days after our doctor visit, it was announced
that the country was going to be shut down. The World Health Organization declared a world-
wide pandemic which meant shipping products would soon become an issue. The world shut
down. I couldn’t visit my dentist like I needed. I couldn’t get a haircut. I couldn’t go buy clothes
at the shopping mall because it was shut down. Nothing. On television, we watched in horror as
body bag after body bag was removed from hospitals. Nobody knew how this virus moved, how
you contracted it, if you did get it-if you would even live. I sat on my bed day after day, just
sitting there in shock. We stopped going to grocery stores and had everything delivered from
anyone who would bring us goods. Thank God I had good credit and savings. I also took out
$3000 cash and kept it around the house in case people did a run at the banks. I didn’t work like
other people, although I’m an author by trade. It turned out that the people who worked from
home were the more educated ones, with a B.A. degree or higher, who were computer-minded,
or who were wealthy. Those who worked retail either lost their jobs or had to show up to deal
with people who refused to stay home once businesses opened. Some small businesses opened
because they couldn’t afford to close. That is where PPP loans backed by the government came
in. I never applied for those loans. I didn’t own a business and I didn’t need the money. It was
meant as an emergency measure by the government to keep jobs afloat. The jobs that were kept
open were the ones that were necessary too. Hospitals and grocery stores, gas stations and um,
hobby stores. I still don’t know why those hobby stores were considered “essential.”

Remember that toilet paper panic I told you about earlier? Well, that fright hit America.
Nowhere to be seen was a roll of toilet paper. It was the new gold. I woke up at 3a.m. just to buy
it on Amazon. Boxes upon boxes arrived to the door. The way we shopped changed. I would go
to small town gas stations and other places that weren’t so popular to shop just to buy hand
sanitizer and necessities. Rubbing alcohol became more increasingly rarer than diamonds, as did
Clorox bleach.

In the meantime, my fiancé was told to work from home, so I got to see him every second of
every day. Students were told to do distant learning. That presented an issue for those who didn’t
have or couldn’t afford connectivity. The threat of a deadly virus was also complicated by supply
and demand- the have vs. have nots.

Originally, we were told not to wear face masks by the lead CDC doctor. It proved to be a
mistake, in my opinion. They meant to save the stronger masks for frontline workers, the
doctors, nurses. But it also caused more of the spread, in my opinion, because people were busy,
stuck inside their houses breathing on each other. They were stuck inside nursing homes, which
were the highest hit with the virus, and deadly. Any communicable place-churches spread this
disease. Anywhere there were people, the chance of illness increased. Very scary times. Don’t
wait for political figures to tell you how to react. Use science. If 1918 taught us anything, which,
yes, we were researching history as to how to deal with this thing, it’s to put faith in science.
During this time, we had a President. Trump was his last name. I’m not going to share my
political views because that is one reason this pandemic went so horribly in my opinion-it was a
political divide. The President told the public that this virus was “politicized by the Democrats”
as a “new hoax,” according to video reports. A lot of people believed him, some still do. He also,
at a press conference, seemed to suggest the possibility of the injection of disinfectant in a
person. I watched this in horror, and his words are documented for you to research yourself.
Accidental poisonings were called into the country’s poison control center, according to reports.
We have medicine for a reason. I don’t trust politicians.

Information was changing daily. Trump closed off travel to different countries. The spread of the
virus ran as fast as gossip and misinformation. By the time the scientists told the country to wear
masks, there was already a political, social, and cultural divide between those who wore a mask
and those who thought that mask wearing was for paranoid, liberal people who wanted to step all
over rights. One thing I will ask, if your faith allows you to disbelieve science, please reexamine
how you think-regardless of rights. And wear a 3 layered mask.

Numerous times, I wrote to my state and local officials begging them for a mask mandate. The
mayor responded promptly and positively. He made the city mask-wearing a requirement in
businesses. The governor thought it was the choice of the people to wear a mask and protect
others from germs. The argument heard from people was “If you don’t feel safe when I go out
without a mask, stay home.” What they woefully failed to realize is that there are silent carriers
of the virus and their breath could kill others.

Did I skip the part about washing groceries? I did. What started out as a stressful arduous thing
became the new normal. You may ask yourself, “Why did they wash groceries?” Because we
were told that the virus lasts on plastics for a certain amount of days, metal even longer. You
needed to be safe. In fact, I still do it now that I’m vaccinated. It has become a habit. Update-just
this past week, I stopped washing groceries. It feels lazy but the more information we are getting
about our vaccine, the more comfortable I am.

A pandemic is a pandemic but it creates a whole new set of issues- from economical (lost jobs)
to social and political. The lesson here is know yourself well. A pandemic will test your
financial, mental and physical endurance.

The mental health toll is a topic I want to discuss because nobody prepares you for it. Granted, I
had the opportunity to experience loss numerous times at a young age, so I thought I was better
prepared for a high casualty rate, but lives are lives and nobody gets used to it. From workers
isolated at home, to the overly-worked health care workers who for days and months saw deaths
claw grab innocent lives, and those who could not go home to hug their own families, people
will be dealing with this for years to come. We need more trained mental health care workers for
such a response. As of this posting, America lost over 588,000 people. People. From all
backgrounds. But had everyone wore a mask and earlier on in the pandemic, I don’t think we’d
have such a high number. But-rights. People lost their lives over those rights.

On a personal note, here are some things I did during the pandemic and before the pandemic that
helped me. I know your going to be looking for a playbook so here are some things to think
about: Keep good credit. You never know when you will need it and you never know who
doesn’t touch cash. But save all forms of money because each business is different. Coins
became in short supply and businesses were begging people for theirs. Some were paying
interest to people willing to turn their coins in, so save. Stock up-buy long life shelf items such as
beans, rice, cereal, peanut butter, and water. Toilet paper and medicine are necessary too. Buy
soap and hand sanitizer. I always poo-pooed sanitizer, until I couldn’t find any. Avoid crowds.
Do not touch your face with your hands-at all. Take care of your health, especially your
“respiratory hygiene.” Keep clean. Help others. Throughout the pandemic, I sent hand sanitizer
to a nursing home and tried to help others. It’s good for your mental health and theirs.

ONE year later- I signed my 74 year old mother up for the vaccine. I signed myself up as well.
My fiancé ended up getting his shots completed before my mom and I, just his luck.

The day of the shot was cold but sunny. The parking lot of the old, freestanding empty
department store was full. My heartbeat sped up as we inched to the door. This was the first time
we were inside a building with so many people. I texted myself notes as to how many people
were inside, how many had masks and how long we were there. I had been texting myself
throughout the whole pandemic to keep track of this information for “contact tracing.” It’s where
the state health officials call you and ask you a bunch of questions as to whom you’ve been
around just in case you fell ill. After 14 days, I’d erase the message because by then it was safe.

My mom got her shot first. They made her wait on a chair for 15 minutes just in case there was
any bad reaction. Then I sat down to get mine. Instantly, I got dizzy, and my heart fluttered. I
pretended it didn’t bother me, but under my mask I told my mom how I had felt. She told me to
breathe deep and relax. Leave it to good ol’ mom-always comforting. Two weeks later, we both
got our second and final vaccine dose. Small fever, sore arm, a price to pay for not getting sick or
dying. People who were anti-vaxxers are probably the same people who refused to wear masks.
Why do something good for yourself and others?

TWO weeks after being fully vaccinated, the anticipation of going to a store was eating at us. We
went to Target. Fearful, I still wore a mask, still socially distanced 6 feet. It wasn’t as fun as I
thought it would be. Just more back to normal.

THE wind down of the pandemic, May 2021. Since my fiancé, mom and I were vaccinated, I
decided it would be good for us to take a trip. We stayed at a BnB in South Dakota because of
the comfortable lack of people and rooms. Nobody wore masks in the businesses we visited,
though. Scary. In fact, we were looked at and laughed at, a man even stared evilly at me due to
the mask wearing. A particular news show anchor told people to approach and harass those who
wore masks. Dangerous thought, but I was ready for anyone. We got bad looks. Let them look.

The Covid pandemic has changed me in several ways and I hope by reading this, it changes you
too. First, I learned to not dismiss occurrences in other countries because everything affects
everyone, even in the smallest ways. I learned to be patient. Waiting by doors for people to exit
instead of rushing in, giving people space to make decisions-it’s all very important. We’re all in
this together so don’t rush others. Don’t be in a rush for yourself. Second, spend time with loved
ones. Over and over on the news we heard about those who said their last goodbyes over the cell
phone or who died lonely because they were ‘hazardous.’ Third, while life is stressful, especially
with that extra scoop of pandemic stress, get out and enjoy nature if you can. There’s only so
much television you can watch. Only so much information will paralyze you. Third, take care of
your health-physically, emotionally, socially and financially. And do it before another pandemic
comes along. Finally, we are all a part of a community. Help others in your community. Think of
others who may not have access to food and donate. The pandemic affected the rich and poor,
healthy and sick, young and old. The virus didn’t care. So, you must. -Crystal L. Vaagen, writer