The last 10 days of Ramadan 2020 has been yet the most challenging experience of my life, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It’s when my brother tested positive for CoVID-19. The virus everyone has been avoiding for months now. The virus that killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.
My brother and I have been living alone ever since the virus blew up in Doha. Unlike most people, we both have not been working from home, we still go out for work which is a lot risky because our jobs are highly exposed to the virus. He’s an architect and I am a nurse. Our parents are back home in Manila and has been on lock down. It’s frustrating enough to be away from our families at this difficult time let alone coming in contact with the virus itself. Being a healthcare professional myself, I was also scared, confused, anxious, and sad. It felt like I had no idea what to do the moment I found out about his results. It really hits hard when a family member is affected. Thankfully I was tested negative. Despite that, my faith was put to test. I’ve been praying so hard for the speedy recovery of my brother.
A lot has happened in the period of 2 weeks, I’ll spare you the details as I am not too keen on sharing it. However, I am writing this to let you know that THIS is real. Please take the necessary precautions seriously. Young or old, this virus can hit anyone. If it does, which I hope not.. I want you to know that you will survive this and you should never lose hope.
This whole experience has put me through a metamorphosis, it’s like what Murakami said on Kafka on the Shore.. “And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
Reads for Keeps 