Coronavirus

The Coronavirus Affected My Family 

“Never Underestimate The Power Of Prayer.”

At this point in the, “safer at home” order, I feel like it’s the right time to share a story that I’ve kept in private. 

About 5 weeks ago my dad had told me that he wasn’t feeling well and coming down with symptoms similar to those of Coronavirus. I automatically went into panic mode thinking that he had it. He went to urgent care to which they did not want to provide him with a the test because they felt he didn’t need one. Once he had told me that, I immediately researched places online where they offered testing. Thankfully, I remembered seeing a post by Mayor Garcetti on Instagram, so I told my dad and he went to go get tested. Within 3 days, he was told that his result was positive.  

My initial thought was, “oh my god, why my dad, why?” Up until that point, I hadn’t known anyone who contracted this deadly virus, let alone now knowing my own parent had it. I was confused, angry and upset that this was happening to him. As days progressed, his condition became worse and he was admitted to the hospital.

Mentally, I was overwhelmed that even now it’s hard to even describe and revisit this horrific time. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I called to check-in on my mom who lives with my dad and found out that she too wasn’t feeling well. At that point, I lost it. I had a gut feeling she had the virus as well. I would regularly contact my dad to check-in on his status and even though he was slowly improving, the fact that he was in the hospital was alarming.

As days went by, my mom was getting increasingly worse to the point where I couldn’t even have a conversation with her over the phone because she was having a hard time catching her breath from all of the coughing.

There was no one to take my mom to the hospital so I made the decision to put myself at risk and take her. We were extremely careful in the car. She sat in the back right seat. We both wore face masks and for the 15 minutes in the car, we didn’t say a word to each other. A lot was running through my mind but I wanted to show my mom that I was strong and that she was going to get through this. I dropped her off at the emergency room and when she left my car, I didn’t know if that was the last time I was going to see her alive. It was devastating.

My mom was admitted to the same hospital as my dad and within a few days, her result was also positive. 

Here I was at home in Hollywood, spending my time reading articles and watching videos online about all of the cases and all of the deaths happening around the world that suddenly I found myself in a very dark head space. I cried about it and felt so helpless. I thought to myself, how did this even happen? How is it that both of my parents have it and no money in the world and no medicine in the world could fix this.

I remember thinking one night that the reality of both of them dying from the Coronavirus was possible. As terrifying as it is, the truth about this pandemic is that it's affecting everyone, emotionally, financially and spiritually. There is still no cure and scientists don't predict a vaccine for months to come.

Days went on and at that time I made the decision to keep this matter as private as possible. I’m not one to share my problems in front of others but going through this experience has made me more open to share some personal stories if they can potentially help people out there that need support.

While they were in the hospital, I started to realize how big of a role I play in my family. My phone was full with text messages and phone calls around the clock from people checking in on my parents. This time period became increasingly overwhelming that I decided to step back from my projects and notified my business partners that I needed to take time off to focus on the situation and take care of my well being.

During this waiting period, I was greeted with prayers from my family members and family friends which meant a lot to me.  

Every night while they were in the hospital I prayed that God would heal them and that they would have the strength to recover from this and be part of the statistic of people that make it out alive. My parents are seniors who are in the high-risk category with underlying conditions. 

I’m happy to share with you that both of my parents have fully recovered and are now back in their home. The beauty in this outcome is that I get to talk to them anytime I want, I get to ask them how their day is and that they have been given the chance to continue living their lives.

I know this is not the case for thousands of people around the world who have lost their loved ones to the Coronavirus. My heart goes out to them and I send my deepest condolences for those who we've lost and those currently battling the virus.

I’m sharing this story as a blog post on thomasorlina.com to help people out there who are seeking comfort during one of the hardest times in our lifetime. For as long as I can remember, I've always had a passion for storytelling and I thought this website was the right place to use my voice and share this story through my writing.  

The takeaway of this open letter is that not everyone dies from having Coronavirus and with the right care, doctors, support group and prayer, you can get through it.

I'd like to thank the nurses, doctors and medical professionals at Huntington Memorial Hospital for saving my parents lives.

I hope this story touched you and that you now have a sense of relief knowing that people can make a full recovery from having this virus with the proper care.

Since this experience 5 weeks ago, I've self quarantined and have stayed at home. I do not have any symptoms and have taken proper measures to do what is right.

Check back next week as I’ll be writing about a variety of subject matters from personal stories, fashion, music, sports, fitness, celebrities, entertainment and more.

Until then, be safe, follow CDC guidelines, practice social distancing and never underestimate the power of prayer.

With love,

Thomas