A young family of four, Olive, her husband Onie, and their two children, Aaron and Janine, love nothing more than to spend time together. Olive owns a company, the Valera Marketing & Creatives Consultancy, and Onie is a full-time interior designer and product developer. Despite their busy schedules, they still find time to watch movies, play board games, and go biking, dancing, and playing volleyball together. Once or twice a year, they also travel out of the country.
The family’s last out-of-the-country trip in Taiwan before COVID struck.
When the pandemic struck, things changed. The family shied away from traveling and social gatherings. To keep them, particularly the children, safe from COVID-19, they also reached the point of disinfecting their groceries, piece by piece.
But, perhaps due to COVID fatigue, Olive admitted to “loosening up” a little towards the end of 2020. Unfortunately, the virus is just as persistent as before.
Recently, Olive, Onie, and their 8-year-old daughter, Janine, tested positive for COVID-19.
In an interview with Hello Doctor, Olive shares how it all happened.
Since the pandemic, people have been meticulous about following health protocols, but it seems like the virus is always one step ahead. In your opinion, how did you contract COVID-19?
When we retraced our steps, there were three scenarios where we could have possibly contracted it.
Onie, my husband, leaves the house and reports to work every day. So, he might have brought the virus home.
We had an out-of-town trip because of a client of mine. I had a photoshoot for a brand. My family went with me and stayed overnight at a hotel.
When we went to the salon. I had a pedicure, Onie had a haircut. We did this a day before we left for the shoot.
What symptoms did you experience? How did it progress?
Oh, boy, I had everything! I had the worst actually. I felt like mine was a moderate case, my husband and our daughter’s were both mild in different degrees.
At first, I was feeling weak, and my headache was unbearable. Then I had a fever as high as 39.8. I was coughing profusely. I had vomiting, LBM, loss of sense of taste and smell, and a hard time breathing.
My husband had the same, but his temperature reached 38.8 only, and he did not experience vomiting and LBM.
When did you decide that it’s time to get tested?
On the second day, we developed the symptoms. Onie’s boss who happens to be one of our wedding sponsors, invited us to do the swab test in their office. That time, only my husband and I were swabbed. The results came back positive.
We followed the protocol. We isolated ourselves and had food delivered to our room, and used disposable utensils to avoid cross-contamination. Good thing, too, that we have our own bathroom in the master bedroom.
Thankfully, our symptoms were manageable. My sister, who’s a COVID ward nurse in the US, advised us to treat our symptoms. So, we took medicines for our fever and cough, and rested a lot.
When did your daughter catch the infection?
Towards the end of our quarantine, my daughter complained of feeling tired. We asked our Yaya Duday to check her temperature and found out that she had a fever of 38 C. Her older brother, Aaron, also had an increased temperature of 37.8 C.
Worried, we had Aaron, Janine, and Yaya Duday take the saliva test kit available in the village. Results came out negative for all three of them, so we just gave our children anti-fever medicine. A day after, they’re feeling better na. No more fever, too.
Olive thought they’d seen the last of COVID. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.
A week after ending our 14-day quarantine, we had ourselves tested again through a drive-thru swab facility since my husband’s company requires that we test negative first before he returns to work.
For the second time, Onie and I tested positive. Then, Janine’s results came back positive, too!
All of us were asymptomatic na naman that time. But we’re still shocked! My husband and I didn’t come out of our room. Our children also did not leave the house, so kami, parang how did Janine get COVID-19?
Now, we are scared that the virus has become airborne or parang it’s in our home even if we disinfect it.
What was the setup after you found out that the three of you were COVID positive?
The three of us stayed in one room. Our son naman kept to his room; he even ate there na.
Buti na lang we have a very reliable and caring yaya. We are so thankful for our Yaya Duday. She took care of everything we needed.
Aaron and Janine with their Yaya Duday.
How was the treatment for your daughter?
She was in isolation with us for two weeks. We really completed the 14 days because we were afraid for our son, baka mahawa rin.
We asked her to eat a lot, especially fruits and vegetables. We also loaded her with vitamins.
There was still school when she contracted the virus. She still goes to online class, but we don’t wake her up early. We allowed her to sleep in and wake up whenever she wanted to. She would just catch-up on her class. We made her rest really well. No pressure. Sometimes, she edits videos and photos or chats and plays online games with her friends. It also helped that she has a dog, Pepper, that she could play with when she was bored.
When we sleep, we also do “proning,” or basically sleeping on our tummy. My sister said COVID patients in the US do this.
On our next swab test, we’re all negative na. Thank God!
What changed after surviving COVID-19, especially in terms of taking care of your children?
We became more careful of everything.
Before, I still meet with my clients personally. Now, I do everything online — unless absolutely necessary.
We continued some of our practices – groceries will have to be disinfected, the house needs to be clean all the time.
My husband really has to take a bath as soon as he gets home. The same thing goes for me when I go out to do my errands. We practice frequent handwashing or use alcohol, wear a face shield and mask, plus put on gloves.
We exercise in the garden, and at 6pm, we open our doors and windows, to better circulate the air.
For a while, my kids were not allowed to play with their friends in the village. Now, they can na but like with face mask on and bath after playing.
Also, now we all, including our yaya, cannot miss taking vitamins. Lastly, we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, much more than we used to.
As a mom to a very young child who experienced COVID-19, Olive leaves the following tips for other parents:
Strengthen your children’s immune system. Let them take vitamins every day, don’t skip. Get a lot of sunshine. Exercise as a family, so it’ll be more fun.
Be consistent with the implementation of safety measures. Don’t go out unless it is necessary.
Be honest with your condition. If you’re positive, immediately report it to the authorities. This is not just to receive the help you need, but also to protect others.
It is always very helpful to have a support system like your parents, sisters, and brothers who will not only help you with what you need but pray for you!
Read a lot, be informed. Don’t just take medicines that people are telling you about. Don’t fall victim to fake news, especially when it comes to your children and COVID-19.
The thing is, we never thought we could get COVID-19, especially our children! Now they are saying it is airborne so that’s very scary. So, be OA, be praning. Act as if you’ll really get it.
