COVID-19 Stories, Health-Related

Palm Beach County residents were asked:

Please tell us a story about how the coronavirus has impacted your life.

Some responses were directly about a health-related or medical experience (e.g., a stay in the hospital, safety precautions, etc.). These responses are shared below by date (newest to oldest). Click ZOOM IN to learn more about the resident and how they interpreted their response.


Jan 13, 2021

Covid Hardship

I Francisca Maria Meza Lopez, am not working. My husband works three to four days per week, due to the covid-19 pandemic he’s not working often. Please forgive me for bothering you regarding this matter, but i need help. i have three children, two boys and a girl that’s one month old. I am in need of diapers, baby wipes, food and detergent to wash their clothes etc. Please forgive me for asking this way but i need your help. God bless you.
Jan 5, 2021

Traversing Uncharted Spaces

2020 was a year of FORCED creativity as a result of a global health pandemic causing entire countries to shelter at home to prevent the spread of the virus. While shut in at our homes, we witnessed the horrific murder of Mr. George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a White police officer which erupted in a racial pandemic which has been suppressed as a result of hundreds of Black lives taken, senselessly. In addition, there was an emergence of technological advancements, proficiencies, and accelerated growth as we shifted our minds and hearts to execute the simple tasks that were no longer options in our COVID environment.
Jan 4, 2021

The Family in covid-19 in 2020

The is family is very important .
Jan 4, 2021

1 (Story #NA)

To stay clean n clean youre surroundings
Jan 4, 2021

#covidstory

My grandfather had a stroke and was in the hospital for 15 days, only my grandmother could visit because of covid restrictions. I have three younger sisters, all who do online school, while my grandmother was visiting my grandfather during the day, I had to watch my sisters. It was an extremely stressful time and he still isn’t 100% recovered.
Dec 22, 2020

My life in the struggle

My struggles started when I lost my child on October 1,2019, my world was turned upside down then this pandemic it does not make anything better my son contracted the COVID-19 and also my cousin who I’m currently living with so it was real scary not knowing what to expect but I prayed and asked God to give me the strength to go through what this pandemic has to offer. Let me back up a little when I lost my daughter I behaved in a lot of my bills .
Dec 10, 2020

Times call for buying a Gun

Through the year, I’ve been thinking about my home, safety, unrest, what I would do if someone broke in at night. I hadn’t shot or owned a gun in over 20 years but went to a concealed carry course the other day and am looking for a gun to put in a safe place in the house only I can access in case the worst happens.
Dec 7, 2020

14

Well, I witness how we all came together as a community and help each other get through these difficult times. I am forever grateful and i am so thankful and happy to be apart of this amazing community.
Dec 4, 2020

My testimony

well I really don’t know where to start. In March I was laid off do to corona… totally devastated. My son and I were in a world of trouble. In May I found out had cancerous cells on my cervix, also had a special procedure to stop the growth (painful), also in May I suffered 2nd degree burns in my back. In June I suffered a stroke,and it affected my right side slightly. Neurologist suggested I shouldn’t drive until further notice. While in the pandemic and me being in the hospital, my son who suffers from mental illness, attempted suicide again (was baker act once). July and August after many different tests and scans doctors found spots on my brain. I started losing my faith and hope. I was scared to go to the doctor for follow ups. September went in for a routine check up ,doc found a spot on my body… he began treatment with different meds and creams, in which none worked. We(doc&I) decided surgery would be better for me to get rid of this aggravating and oozing spot. I ended up having surgery late October. When the results came back it was skin cancer. It’s called Squamous carcinoma. By the grace of God doc was able to remove it all during surgery. In November I was diagnosed with Neuropathy in both legs. Now that were in December I pray daily that whenever I go to my specialist and neurologist that all test from here on out are NEGATIVE… I never in a million years imagined that things like I explained in the message would actually happen to me. It’s been difficult but I make it look sweet for the sake of my son. I live off of $140 . God is still Good and I still have faith… I know for a fact that he’ll make a way out of no way P.S…. I don’t want pity from anyone God has given me all these tests for my testimony. I could use some help. If I’m not chosen ,I pray the family that is appreciates it. Thank you for your listening ears.
Dec 4, 2020

EJSJB2020 (Story #NA)

When Covid-19 was first being pushed into the American news stream in March 2020 I was a sophomore in high school getting ready for spring break with my friends. Around this time people’s emotions were very mixed, some of us were freaking out 2020 had already been so chaotic (We had a World War 3 scare, several celebrities had died, storms were hitting, etc.). Some of us weren’t all that concerned especially us Floridians. Every year we get storm scares and the like, overtime we’ve adapted so that most of the time it’s hard for the mainstream news to faze us, after all if we let that happen we’d be freaked out all the time. We thought: “This is just another thing they’re trying to worry us about” Let’s not forget that our election for U.S. president was coming up this year and candidates were already dropping out like flies, this was just adding onto the election frenzy. “It’s just another Flu” “It’ll be gone by summer” “It only really hurts babies and elderly people.” These are all things we told ourselves. These are all things we were wrong about. Young healthy people, college students, newly weds still in their honeymoon stage, new mothers, this virus did not discriminate. People were being wiped out! It wasn’t just the virus’ mass devastation that caused this pandemic to become an era for the history books though, people’s behavior in these times will be talked about for years to come. I hope future generations get a laugh out of reading about “The Toilet Paper Mania” for some reason people rushed into any store they could find, thousands of shoppers found themselves fighting over TOILET PAPER! As if that could stop the virus somehow. As chaotic s that was it still feels like 7 years ago rather than 7 months simply because of everything else that’s happened since then. The killing of several black people by police officers causeda resurgence in the black lives matter movement which led to months of protests in which the police fully militarized against people singing in the streets. There were also riots in which people looted local Targets which funded their city’s police department and regularly denied service to black customers. (It’s laughable, even Target is the enemy now). Looking online these days its rare to see a Twitter handle or Instagram bio without BLM or ACAB (which means all cops are bastardized) in it. Does anyone even remember the murder hornets? Or when President Trump basically called now presidential-elect Biden’s son a crackhead on national television? Or when hordes of celebrities got on their cellphones and recorded themselves naked and singing in order to “lift our spirits” during quarantine. 2020 has been an interesting year to say the least. There were some days when we had to collectively grieve together like when beloved actor Chadwick Boseman of “Black Panther”, “Thurgood”, “42” and “Get on Up” fame tragically passed away, and there were days when we all virtually laughed with and enjoyed each other’s company like in the online “Versuz” competitions between our favorite musical artists. In summary, we’ve gone through a lot in 2020 but at least students of the future won’t be bored when it gets to our chapter of humanity’s story.

About the Project | Story Gallery | How Residents Interpreted Their Stories (Data Visuals)