My name is Muniza and I am based in Ontario, Canada. I want to share how my entire family got infected by the deadly COVID-19 virus and what went through all of us in consequence. By “entire family,” I mean my father, mother, sister, brother, brother-in-law, my 90-year-old grandfather, and even my 1.5-year-old niece.

I was quite surprised when I heard that my parents contracted the virus because they had both taken the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Having recently moved to Canada and leaving my family behind was already hard, and it was even harder when I heard this awful news.

My mother was already vulnerable due to a history of bronchitis and diabetes (immunocompromised according to the CDC), which gave the virus a chance to attack her organs the most. In a matter of three days, my mother was admitted to the High Dependency Unit in a hospital, where she suffered for more than a week. Her oxygen saturation was falling to 80, her sugar level was as high as 21 because she was being treated with steroids and her lungs were affected by 35-40 percent. However, it was a great blessing that all my family members and relatives’ prayers were heard and my mother’s condition was improving day by day. Although she is finally home now, doctors have advised her to rest for at least three months because her oxygen level still drops below 93 sometimes. To much of our surprise, my 90-year-old grandfather did not have any complications, except for reduced appetite.

My heart goes out to all those families who went through or are going through a similar situation or may have even lost their loved ones during this unprecedented time. I am extremely proud of my family, every one of them, for looking after themselves and also each other as COVID-19 is such as disease where no one can even lend a helping hand unless you are affected, be it, friends or family. After all, the entire world now runs around on these two words: Positive or Negative?