Before anything else, I would like to specially mention @bbghitte and @bmjc98 for nominating me for Macronald's weekly contest. Just this morning I saw that I was one of the winners. Thank you very much for all the support guys and thank you @macronald for this.
The last 2 articles that I published were about my life during the pandemic. The advantages and disadvantages and some of my observation that I had personally experienced during this rough times. I decided to divide them into parts so that I can add more in the future in case I have forgotten something.
For the 3rd part of my article, I can say that this pandemic has doubled or even tripled the use of technology in our daily lives. Some people who aren't techie with such are now being introduced to the virtual world. Have you ever imagined before that we would be relying so much to the technology now? For work, school, meetings, online shopping, food delivery and whatnot.
Our smartphones most specifically hold a great value for all of us. We can now do a lot of things with it and it can also act as an electronic wallet. It's not just an ordinary phone compared to how it was back then. It has became a necessity to each and everyone of us.
During lockdown, I have relied so much with my phone as it was my means of communication to my relatives, friends and family. Yes, I did had a few video calls with my parents when I was at the hospital and weeks after discharge. If you have read all my articles you would know why. In case you haven't, I had appendectomy (surgical removal of appendix) and salpingectomy (surgical removal of one fallopian tube). I was in the hospital for 4 days so as a safety measure, I was quarantined in my room 2 weeks after I was discharged.
The sad thing for me about being hospitalized during this tough times was that my parents couldn't visit me because the elderly people are prone to the virus. Even if the COVID patients were isolated in a different building, they still didn't allow elderly people to visit any patients. Good thing that our helper was there to stay with me during my hospitalization. If not, I didn't know who else would be my guardian because the hospital specifically told us that a patient needs 1.
After I was brought back from the recovery room, I immediately called my mom for updates because I know that she was very worried especially because she was not there. Then I told her all what happened and the last minute changes that the doctor have decided because they saw something in my ultrasound. I was just suppose to have appendectomy because they had already suspected it was appendicitis when I was rushed to the emergency room.
Little did I knew that my mom wasn't able to comprehend all the information that I have told her. She just thought that I just had appendectomy. The following day after my surgery, she cried while I was talking to her because she's worried that I might not be able to bear a child anymore because I said I also didn't know what they removed from me. I know they showed me the specimen and told me that it was my right fallopian tube but it does look like an ovary for me. LOL. I got all the information that I needed when the doctors visited me.
If it weren't for the pandemic, my mom would have been informed about the last minute changes. The hospital did call for my guardian to inform her about the changes but of course she wasn't able to understand any of it.
Have you been hospitalized during this tough times? How was it? Who stood by your side? Were you allowed to have a visitor? I was actually allowed to have a visitor but only if they would agree for a rapid and/or swab test. Price ranges from Php1500-10000 (depends on the hospital). Do you think they would still visit if they have to pay for the tests plus the probable risks of getting infected especially because it is still a hospital. I remember the first time I had a surgery, my friends and relatives visited me any time they wanted to show their care and support. Well they still showed their care and support only not physically.
When I was quarantined, I did watched some shows on TV and Netflix. I even researched about my surgery. I felt I was in my room for more than 2 weeks and that the time was really running so slow. During that time I became so depressed especially whenever I touched my dressing. I cried during the first couple of nights probably because of my surgery or because I was alone in my room with no one to talk to that I felt really depressed. I can't even be with my dogs because they might jump at my abdomen.
Those times were very difficult for me that I didn't want to talk to anyone because I am not ok. Some may say that "It's okay to not be okay" just like the popular Korean drama. I haven't watched it yet but it's already in my list. I know that it is not me and I didn't want this pandemic to rule over me so I decided to list some dishes that I would cook for my Youtube channel. It took me awhile before I get out of that "I am not okay" phase. But I was really happy when that 2 weeks was over. My dogs were really the medicine for me. Though they still didn't sleep in my room until my wound was really healed but at least I get to play with them and talk to my parents in person.
If not for our advance technology, I think I would have lost my mind during those 2 weeks. I know that this pandemic has brought many cases of anxiety and depression to most of us but we should also keep in mind to prioritize our mental health during this tough times. There are still a lot of things that we can do when we're stuck in our home and even when we're quarantined. Learn new things and enjoy life. Problems and obstacles doesn't end, we just have to deal with it and not take the virus for granted.
