Turning Point

When COVID-19 hit my hometown in Florida, it changed my life completely. Maybe for the better.

Yes, I was scared because I got sick in March with bronchitis. The government told us to stay home if you're uncomfortable. I considered myself a high risk since I have asthma.

My family and close friends too. They kept telling me not to return for work. I was probably among the first who stayed home. I encouraged others to do the same. Especially if they know of someone who could get sick.

I heard it was rough that weekend, crazy people at my Walmart store wanted toilet paper. Then they eventually wanted food supplies. Not sure why it wasn't the other way around.

I strongly believe I would've caught COVID-19 if I tried to tough it out and go to work like I normally do. I'm glad I didn't since I lost control over my asthma. I developed coughs, trouble breathing and I felt nauseous.

I had phenomena three years ago. It was similar symptoms, however I eventually vomited. Then mom took me to the hospital. I didn't throw up to know what was going on this time.

My oxygen was very low; I wondered if I was experiencing the same thing, just not as bad. I was able to take care of myself but I told my husband, if my breathing gets worse...take me to the hospital.

I eventually went to the hospital, got x-rayed, and found out I had bronchitis. They gave me something for my asthma but no antibiotics. So it dragged on for a couple weeks until I got better. I continued to stay home because I wanted to know if Florida was going to shut down.

We did on April 1st, which was too late. I know we should've done it earlier. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths were rising. I attempted to go back to work when we started to flatten the curve.

I tried to help with overnight cleaning. The chemicals we used triggered my asthma, which made me stay home again. I became even more worried when my breathing was off. I went back to work since I was stressed about not being there. I still wasn't 100% better.

Then it got worse when Walmart employees started to wear masks mid April. This was hard on me with breathing problems already. I developed a sore throat, coughs again, all day headaches, and diarrhea. Management told me to get tested.

I got an x-ray again, found out I had acute bronchitis. Since I had respiratory problems, I decided to get tested for COVID-19. I went for a drive through in Daytona, Florida. They had me spit in a cup, which was interesting. They made sure it was a quick and easy process. It took less than an hour for us.

I never got the results so I assumed I was negative or they were hiding them. They were stopping the drive through by May. I suppose I'd never know. I was finally taking antibiotics at this point. I got better slowly. I started to see a family doctor to figure out what's wrong.

I decided not to go back to work. I had a feeling that my immune system must be weak right now. I'm currently redirecting my career in hopes to find a remote job or something I really want to do. This experience pushed me to finally leave a dead end job.