ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Amanda Kern has dubbed her Orange County home an ICU due to a COVID-19 outbreak within it.
“My entire family is sick right now, and I feel like I’m in an ICU. And every time I think we are getting better, it’s getting worse.”
Her sons Chance, 10, and Jalen, 13, have COVID-19 too. Chance also has spina bifida and has undergone 19 surgeries in his life.
Kern has been documenting her family’s experience with COVID-19 every step of the way on her Facebook page, mostly to keep her family and friends up to date.
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As a teacher, she hopes to educate others.
She said it started 12 days ago with her husband, Jason, who is fully vaccinated.
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“He was feeling a little bit off on Monday, and he had heard some co-workers were positive, and so he ended up getting tested Monday night and came back positive. That was our initial freakout moment.”
Kern tested negative three times before she tested positive. She only received one dose of the vaccine due to a severe allergic reaction.
“If this virus hits you, a lot of people think it’s going to be mild,” Kern said. “I thought that too — it’s just a cold, it’s just a flu. This is harder than any respiratory illness any of us have ever been through.”
Kern said her husband began to feel better after receiving regeneron therapy. Her son Jalen has been what she calls discharged from “her ICU.” Her son Chance is still fighting to get through it.
She said COVID-19 is a vicious cycle.
“I respect everybody’s choices with schools and going back to work, but if you are going to go with a mask, you need to get the best mask possible. This isn’t March 2020; COVID is literally in the heart of our state. It’s taking over our state.”
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