Date: May 15, 2022 (Sunday)

"Hello! Is this Leticia Felize S.?"

"Leticia speaking, who's this please?"

"This is John from the contract tracing team. May I know who you keep in touch with personally for the past 15 days?"

...and the rest was history.

I can't seem to grasp how I was able to surpass all the struggles that I have been through on my quarantine days last year. I mean, it was truly unexpected. Of all the surprises that were available in the world that time, embracing that kind of surprise was something that I don't want to receive. I never dreamt of inviting such thing in my life. Howbeit, so ironic how it visited me freely.

If not because of the party that happened in the company before, we will not be able to experience such thing as quarantine, but then I guess everything happens for a reason. With that, I'll just embrace my struggle before and continue to embrace the lesson that I have learned from that experience.

During that time, I was having a cough and colds. I was so prone to getting sick especially that my period was about to start. Just so you know, whenever my period is around the corner I usually get sick. Needless to say, I'm not always getting my period though due to my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), I used to have absent period or prolonged one, but when I do have one, I know the symptoms before it happens.

Now, my heart was pounding that time when the guy named John texted me on the information of our swab schedule the next day.

Swab Test Day

During the swab test day, I was not at ease knowing that I kept on coughing and my runny nose was making a scene. It was a tough day for me as I kept on silencing my cough. If only I have a silencer to free me from getting judge by the people around.

You see, whenever they will hear you cough or even sniff, they will suspect you as COVID-19 positive in a snap. Whenever I wanted to cough, I'll go to the comfort room real quick and use peeing as an excuse. I could still recall the struggle of controlling the cough then running to the comfort room and so on.

After we got swabbed, the people in the swab testing area told us to get quarantined for the next 14 days. They said that we need to follow or else we will regret. They also said that some people will monitor us from time to time and check our situation.

By the way, we were given a choice to either get quarantined in our house or in another venue in which the company sets. Now, since I don't want to givenl my family a hard time and for them to keep safe while I was still on quarantined, I decided to go for the venue provided.

Quarantine Days

Guess the most crucial days for me during my quarantine was the days before the result of the swab test to be released. I got a positive result scare. I was so afraid that time since if I will receive a news of being COVID-19 positive, my parents and family members will get affected as well.

That moment when you're so bothered and you tend to overthink everything a lot. It's not easy to keep on embarking another day and still not able to know the result. I don't want to prolong the heaviness that I was feeling inside. With a lot of going on in my life, I then try to develop a negative mind. Like I kept on thinking of negativity while I was staying in the quarantine venue, not knowing the result yet. My mind that time was being surrounded with dark clouds that can't seem to get out from my mind.

Things never never went as what I wanted it to be. My days turned out to be as nervewracking and boring especially when the result was still out of reach.

"Good day! This is to inform you that you result from the swab test was negative."

After reading such message, I instantly jumped out of joy and cried so hard. I felt a big relief. I was so happy knowing that the cough and the colds that I've been feeling was indeed not because of COVID-19 but because I was just having my period. Never in my life have I thought that I will be on that kind of situation. I tried so hard not to fall on being quarantined and being swabbed because of COVID-19, but guess life is just too messed up sometimes and will offer us something we don't want.

After all the things that went through during my quarantine days, I'm still grateful for it. I'm grateful that I was tested negative to COVID-19. I'm grateful that I became a big part of history wherein I have a gem that I could share to the young ones when I get old. I have something to answer when people would ask what I did during the COVID-19 time, and with that, I think it's pretty astounding to have something to share. And from that experience I know that they can come up with a lesson as well.

Perhaps my positive result scare and negative minf became my biggest challenge during the quarantine days, but after all the prayers that I kept on doing at night, I was being guided to the path away from danger. Glory to God!

Happy Quarantineverssary!

How about you? Have you experienced being quarantined or get swabbed for COVID testing?

Disclaimer: The thoughts expressed are based from the author's personal experiences.

Leqd Image Source: Unsplash