Age, sex, race, religion—none of these matter in the face of COVID-19. I’m 27, a former basketball player who continues to play every now and then, I watch what I eat and work out as much as I can, you could say I’m your typical young adult.
However, none of that shielded me from COVID-19. I was still infected by this virus despite the demographic being reported in the news. Was I surprised? Yes. But did I let it defeat me? No. As a doctor, I am very well aware of the risks I face everyday but I never saw this coming. This virus, this disease, affected more than just my physical state.
Admittedly, my COVID experience was a mild one and was incomparable to the cases which bordered on or even resulted to death. It felt like a normal day with just a few symptoms of the common cold—a slight cough here and some dry throat there. Besides the fact that everything tasted like cardboard and not even the most pungent of odors could tickle my nose, there was nothing out of the ordinary. And like most of you out there, you could be feeling the same way, but this is not the time to take things lightly.
We are all going through this pandemic as normal as we can with a lot of us feeling as normal as ever, having minimal to no symptoms. We go through each day frustratingly waiting for this lockdown to be over completely clueless about whether we have COVID or not. However, as typical as we feel, we cannot be taking any chances at this point. We have an obligation to others and we protect them every time we decide to stay home or wash your hands. You protect someone, you save a life and you save yours. Being a COVID-19 survivor and a health worker, I feel capable and motivated to go back to the frontlines and do whatever I can to stop the further spread of this virus or to alleviate the suffering of my patients, but the best thing to do right now is to wait for my clearance at home before jumping back into work. Although I feel paralyzed by my idleness, I know that even such is a way of fulfilling my oath in that “I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.”
This situation has brought about a lot of questions and uncertainty. Will there be a vaccine in the near future? Will this lockdown ever end? Will we really be safe walking around the streets? Will we ever go back to normal? We yearn for the ordinary days, the normal situations and the usual routines we once had. I offer no satisfactory answers or sure solutions, I’m waiting on them too, just like you. But, what I can say is this: we will overcome.
Uncertainty will always be there, but with the fear of the unknown also comes a sense of excitement. As we long for what we were accustomed to, we now also look to what tomorrow can be and how it can be better. I assure you that life post-pandemic, will be different. Your first hug will be more intimate. Your conversations are going to be more meaningful. Your occasions will be enjoyed and treasured a little more. No matter what situation you find yourself in during this time, the beauty of the human spirit has showed off these last few months and that alone should give you so much hope in what lies on the other side. As Alfred Camus once said, “[w]hat’s true of all the evils in the world is true of plague as well. It helps men to rise above themselves…There are more things to admire in men than to despise.” And indeed, the best in humanity has shone brighter than ever in these trying times. There is still so much to look forward to after all this has come to pass. Don’t let fear and uncertainty cripple or discourage you.
I urge you to live your life. Live it fully. You know that feeling where you’re anxious, or uneasy and awkward about something, just go through it. Allow yourself to feel that exhilaration next time. Allow yourself to be scared. Be vulnerable in the most intimate of moments. Smile. Laugh. Cry. Feel it and cherish it. What once was our ordinary can now be extraordinary. Our normal can be substantial. Our usual can be remarkable.
No matter what question we face about our future, there is hope.
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