“I'm old enough to remember the polio epidemic.”

This is part of a series on Grace Heights Health and Rehabilitation — which had over 40 residents and 35 staff members test positive for COVID.

MORGANTON, NORTH CAROLINA: I'm old enough to remember the polio epidemic. I must have been six or seven years old. We had it really bad in Caldwell County and I have relatives who are still paralyzed from it. I was very young, but I do remember schools being closed, which was a big thing.

I'm old enough to remember the polio epidemic.

Now I’m 78. I’ve been at Grace Heights for four years now. This is my home. I have dementia and problems with my kidneys. I've also had diabetes and I've lost 170 pounds. 

In early March, we were asked to stay in our rooms. We didn't get to go to the cafeteria or dining hall area for activities. Bingo was our biggie. They tried to keep us as safe as possible. I mean they did everything they could think of, but it was just rampant once it got here. 

I tested positive for COVID on April 6. I had severe headaches in the back of my head, very strange, headaches. And then I had some loss of taste and smell but just a little bit. I had trouble concentrating that kind of thing. 

I was isolated for two months (from April 9 - May 30). I wasn’t sick all of that time. They were just trying to maintain isolation for all the people who had the virus. That’s why I stayed so long. I wasn’t really sick. Isolation was miserable. Even if you get along really well with your roommate after a while, you know, anybody that's gonna’s going to get your nerves. It's very, very difficult, very difficult. It plays on your nerves after a while. You hear so many people dying, horribly sick, not knowing if you’re going. The unknown was hard, very hard.  

The unknown was hard, very hard.

I've always been this outgoing person and I almost changed personalities, when I came here. And then this is making me even more introverted than I've ever been. I love to read. I spend a lot of time reading and a lot of time with word games, word, puzzles, that kind of thing. I just discovered adult coloring books. I had them for a while and with colored pencils, I couldn't get them dark enough for me. So I thought I’d try magic markers just about a weekend. And that got me hooked. It's like eating potato chips. Once you do one area, you want to keep going. That's how I constantly keep my mind busy. And that helps with the isolation.

I just saw my son about two weeks ago and I hadn't seen him since before Easter. They let them drive up in the car and we talked back and forth through the window. He had a new girlfriend I hadn't met so he brought her too. They couldn't get out of the car but it was just great to be able to see him. And they brought some small gifts and then they had beautiful flowers for me. It was just something really nicely they did for us. I appreciated it so much. 

I know that these things make me stronger

I have a faith in the Lord and I've been through some very difficult things in my lifetime. I’ve always relied on him to carry me through. I know that these things make me stronger and they help me to help other people.