On March 29, I drove from my hometown in Illinois to St. Paul.

Despite campus being officially closed, I’ve stayed in my apartment near school, but for spring break, I took the week to go home and relax with my family. We were at the beginning of nation-wide stay at home orders, so my family remained home. My dad, who has commuted to downtown Chicago for nearly 30 years, created his own at-home office space. My mom took some time off work to hang out with me while I was home, and I had been living socially distanced for two weeks at that point.

But on March 30, I woke up with a fever. Before leaving the previous day, my mom had a runny nose and itchy throat—pretty typical symptoms for her spring allergies. Neither of us thought anything of it, but she, too, had a fever the next day.

Over the next week, I continued tuning in to my Zoom classes and tried my best to complete homework assignments. My fever was inconsistent, ranging between 99.5 and 101, and showing up every other day. I still had chills, body aches and the typical tiredness associated with fevers. On top of that, I had brutal headaches and eventually developed a slight cough.

Now, my mom, nearly 400 miles away, was worried. Her fever was more constant, including chills and aches, but her headaches were duller. No cough to be found. Still, we’d text every few hours, checking in on each other. Through this, I found ways to ease her worries, usually downplaying my symptoms. I found justifications for how we couldn’t have COVID-19.

Seasonal allergies and a fever for her. Just a low-grade fever for me. I usually have some sort of respiratory cough when I’m sick, so even that, I could chock up to personal health history.

It was ironic being sick during a pandemic without having the pandemic-causing virus. But at the time, it was the only explanation I could give myself. The alternative was a little too real.

I was feeling back to normal by April 5, but my mom had an on and off fever until April 11, just before Easter. We were both healthy, nearly good as new.

On April 27, the CDC released a new list of symptoms: chills, chills with shivers, headache, body aches, sore throat, and lack of smell and taste. Between my mom and I, we covered all of them. I had intense headaches, chills, body aches and a less severe fever. She had consistent chills, body aches, minor headaches, a fever and temporarily lost her senses of smell and taste.

I was pretty close to having a crisis. Yes, I was fully healthy. My mom was better. But this was pretty solid evidence that we had been sick with the coronavirus. Neither of us have pre-existing medical conditions or are classified as “at risk,” but it’s still a little freaky to think you had the virus causing so much global strife.

On May 4, my mom got tested for having the antibodies associated with COVID-19, and on May 5, her results came back positive. She had the antibodies, meaning she had the coronavirus. While I haven’t been tested yet, it is a pretty strong case I had it, too. I didn’t have to go to the hospital, I recovered perfectly fine and my mom was healthy, but again, it’s scary.

So, what now?

I had COVID-19, but I was not hospitalized. I was untreated, and I am untested. I’m thankful my case wasn’t as serious, but I still want to get tested. In doing so, I can confirm what I’m fairly confident in being true, and I can be counted toward the total number of confirmed cases.

If people who suspect they had the coronavirus get tested, we can get a more complete picture of COVID-19’s spread, even if they were minor cases. This is good information for current policy (when to reopen states, determining financial support, etc.), but it will also be valuable data for the future. When we look back in 20 years, it will be interesting to see the real numbers of those affected, allowing us to compare the current pandemic with those earlier in history.

Getting your blood tested for antibodies provides more than personal or historical knowledge. If positive, I can donate blood plasma to the Red Cross. It will be used to help current COVID-19 patients who are at severe risk of death or have an extreme form of the virus. If it is a treatment that works, why not? On top of that, the donated blood could help researchers work toward a vaccine. Again, if it’s helpful, why not? We are all in this together whether we like or not. If I can help by donating blood, then I would like to do so.

When our lives return to normal, I’m sure there will be a lot of questions, a lot of moments to think about what the world just endured. We will have lived through a global pandemic. That doesn’t happen too often. It will most likely change a lot about our lives, even if we don’t see it right away.

In talking with friends, we have pondered what it’ll be like looking back on 2020. Will it be a turning point in history, or will it just be another crazy year experienced? Certainly humanity has faced harsher trials than this, but we shouldn’t discredit the pain and struggles so many have faced. Worldwide, over 5.08 million people have had COVID-19. Whether someone had a slight cough or was bed-ridden in a hospital, the pandemic has affected everyone.

No matter our situation, we should remember to be gentle with each other. I imagine the world will need a bit of reprieve once this is over. It’s been odd and stressful, uncertain and concerning. But we will get through it, and when we do, we will ask, “What now?”

Hopefully, at that point, we can move forward as a united world.

Maddie Peters can be reached at pete9542@stthomas.edu.