One evening in mid-August, Genesis and her brother were feeling terrible. “We both had the chills, a fever, and had lost our sense of smell and taste. All the typical COVID-19 symptoms,” said Genesis.
Fearing that they might have contracted the virus, they went to the hospital around midnight. “It was really scary. It is one thing to watch the news reports on television, and another thing to be at the hospital and have doctors and nurses in protective gear examining you.
We were there for an exhausting six hours before they released us. We both tested positive.” Genesis and her brother couldn’t believe they had the virus. “Our family had been so careful. We had stayed home, and everyone wore a mask when they went out.
But there had been one small get together with a few members of our extended family. I think that is how we got the virus. We were all wearing masks and practiced social distancing, but despite these precautions, everyone got sick. It’s just so contagious.”
Very quickly after the visit, the virus spread to all five family members in Genesis’ home. “My brother and I had flu-like symptoms, but it was even worse for my older sister, mother and father,” said Genesis. “My dad, who has a heart condition and diabetes, had to be hospitalized due to complications from the virus. We were all very anxious about his health and the doctors warned us that he might not make it.”
Meanwhile, everyone in the household was struggling to regain their health. “At first, we were so sick that we had to rely on friends to bring us prepared meals. It was an extremely challenging period. We were so worried about my dad, and we also had to focus on recovering as well.
It was such a relief when the Public Health Department connected us with Food For Thought and we learned about the free nutrition and grocery delivery service,” said Genesis. “My mom and dad usually do most of the cooking, so I really appreciated that the healthy food provided by FFT helped inspire me to do meal planning for the family. Fortunately, my father recovered from COVID-19 and came home.
I honestly believe that the nutritious food that we received made a big difference. I was able to work with FFT’s client services team to make sure that he had the right diet to address his other health concerns.” Today, everyone in the household has recovered from COVID-19. Genesis, who studies behavioral psychology at Santa Rosa Junior College and works as a behavior assistant at Santa Rosa City Schools, credits Food For Thought with helping her family pull through in an extremely difficult time.
“FFT is a very thoughtful organization,” said Genesis. “Being a psychology student, I can’t help but think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Food is one of the most basic physiological needs and Food For Thought made sure that this was taken care of for us, and that we did not have to face this family health crisis alone. We are so incredibly grateful for the help we received.”