In a nation so full of chaos and hate, there are sill amazing people out there. Somehow, one found me.
The phone call to my mother was the hardest. It was the first time saying it out loud. And once the words came out of my mouth, it suddenly became real. The call was filled with probably more weeping than speaking, but I was having a mild panic attack. I mainly needed her to help me gain the courage to talk to my TC. I knew she couldn't be mad at me. Well, she could be, but she can't let me know that.
I thought I got all of the tears out with my mother, but of course, as soon as my TC answered, it started all over. I apologized so many times because I knew that this was about to be so inconvenient for absolutely everyone involved. And I felt completely at fault.
However, she is such an amazing human and made me feel as calm as I could have been at that moment. All I knew, is that I had to get to my room and isolate until we figured out what our next step could be.
So there I was, alone in my room, crying away, making all of the phone calls I felt necessary. I was unaware that that was about to be the only thing I did for the rest of the day. In our trainer group text, our TC announced the canceling of our training day with a disclaimer that she will be calling everyone soon.
The trainers instantly began texting about our day off and all of the activities we can partake in. Meanwhile, here I am in tears knowing that all of their exciting plans will soon be put to rest once they all find out that they have to self-quarantine.
I was the first phone call that my TC made because, well, I was the easiest one since I already knew what was going on. I was presented with two options. I could stay here and quarantine in my hotel room for 10 days, or I could get a vehicle and drive home. Not going to lie to you, neither of those options sounded appealing to me.
My mother had already been trying to come up with ways to come get me. She'd been trying to find a place for me to go, getting ahold of any and all of her friends who live in the state of Texas. Love you, Mom, but Texas is a giant state! Well, now I had a big decision ahead of me. Do I attempt the 22 hour drive home and take a hotel break in the middle?
I called my Fiancee and he voted on me accepting the rental car and beginning the drive home. My father asked that if I do it, I do it quickly as to not get more sick and get halted in my adventure cross-country. It sounded terrible, but seemed like my best bet. That was until my mother brought up a very solid flaw in this plan.
"Bubba, will you even be able to get a hotel room? You will have to make so many stops for food and gas. Is that really a good idea?"
Well, Mom.. Shoot.. This was a question for the health department. I was told that they would call me; however, its already been three hours since the test results and I haven't heard anything. I gave them a little more time, and decided to give them a call around 2 pm.
After being on hold for 45 minutes, I FINALLY got through to a human being! While she was really nice, she didn't have a ton of answers for me. She was turning me over to an RN who would be able to help me with more knowledge on what I was going through. However, we only got as far as her leaving the RN a message and she will call me back. I guess that was better than nothing, but still, who knew how long that could be.
Well, I thought that maybe I could call the health department back home. I called, only to leave a voice message. When I started complaining to my mother, she reminded me that Michigan is an hour ahead, making it almost 5 o'clock there. Oh perfect. Now I was prepared to have to wait until the next day to get anything figured out. To anyone who knows me, that's not quite how I operate.I don't like to wait on things.
And then, my Angel stepped into my life. Right before 4 pm central time, I received the phone call I had been waiting for from the RN with the Galveston County Health District.
My Angel started by informing me of the symptoms to be extra weary about when it comes to COVID-19. Being cautious if you become short of breathe while not being active was the most important. It's okay to be short of breathe while standing or walking, but if I feel it while sitting, the hospital should be the next step. She was already a huge help.
She asked the symptoms I was experiencing, which at this point, consisted of lack of taste and smell, headaches and some congestion. Nothing too terrible, right? We established that, being young and healthy, that should be the worst of my symptoms, but you never know.
But then, she gave me the answer I didn't want. I am not allowed to leave this hotel room until 10 days after the start of the symptoms. That was met with lots of tears. Angel was so concerned, like genuinely concerned. I explained that I was here with a training team and I was pretty sure that they would all be leaving. I was going to be here completely alone..
I was assured that I was no longer alone. Angel proceeded to give her credentials so I knew exactly who she was, before asking where exactly I was staying and how she could be of assistance to me. She has two daughters and could not imagine one of them being quarantined in a hotel room so far away from home.
She took a grocery list from me and asked if I needed any clothes. I was in absolute shock throughout the entire conversation. I had no clue who this woman was and she didn't know me, but she was treating me like family. She had me laughing and I somehow felt calm.
When Angel and I hung up, I had to comprehend what had just happened and couldn't believe this woman just came into my life. My mother was in just as much shock and of course we sat there and cried, and discussed how we are so thankful for the good people in the world.
I was still slightly apprehensive, but hopeful.
During my wait time, I was on phone call after phone call with concerned friends and family, and management from my home stores. Going back and forth with my parents, and siblings It was now 6 p.m. and I have been off of the phone for maybe 10 minutes total since that dreaded phone call just after 10:30 a.m. Even though I completely understood, I was kind of wanting to just be left alone for a little bit, you know? But I knew that I was about to have SO MUCH alone time, so I'll figured I would take all the company I could get that day.
6:28 p.m.
My Angel called me to inform me that her daughters and her had dropped off my groceries. I opened my door to view a baggage cart sitting outside of my door loaded with goodies. Standing across and slightly down the hallway was this amazing family. I think it goes without saying that my eyes instantly welled up with tears. Angel and her daughters seemed so excited to see me, to finally put a face to the story of this girl who is stuck in Texas. I asked Angel how I can pay her and was shoved off with the wave of a hand. I had no clue how to react.
Angel also told me that she told the hotel staff my situation and adamantly expressed that they CANNOT ask me to leave. They shouldn't give me any problems, but if they do, she was to be my first phone call.
Once I finished crying, I expressed my eternal gratitude and probably thanked them at least 15 times. I pulled all my groceries into my room, and through the tears I called my mother. In case you haven't noticed. my mother is always the first one I call. This goes for anything.
Stressed at work?
Call Mom.
Fiancee being a butt?
Call Mom.
Got good news?
You guessed it, Mom.
I was given the most amazing gift from such an amazing family. They not only gave me the gift of food and drink, but they gave me peace of mind. There is nothing scarier than feeling completely alone in a hotel across the country while being told that you're not even allowed to leave the room.
I have been given the gift of a friend, a temporary family who can help me with anything I need. For once that day, I could breathe.
I mean, seriously. In what world is this supposed to happen to me? I'm used to things just going wrong. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't half expecting me to get a positive test while I was here. That's just my luck. But never, in my mind, would I have expected someone to go so far out of their way to help a complete stranger. But, I was shown that through all of this hate in the world today, there still are some amazing, good-hearted people.
I now had a fridge and cupboard full of drinks and microwaveable food with some night-time snacks.
How amazing is that?
Someone in Heaven was looking out for me. Someone pushed all of the right buttons to get me in contact with the right people. That's how I know that she is My Angel. She was sent to me by Grandmother and her mother. I just know it. My mother and I could both feel it.
What a crazy day it had been. The rest of the night was rather calming. I began to edit some photos while maintaining dozens of phone calls and video chats. Letting some of my Texas friends know that their visits to Galveston are no longer necessary. It was one call after another and it was so amazing.
Knowing that I had so many people who care about me and everyone reaching out to me wishing me the best. It was pretty cool. Most of these people were friends of my mother, as I hadn't really told too may people. But remember when I said that my mother was doing anything she could to get be home or out of this hotel room? Word got around pretty fast.
I turned in early around 11 p.m. (Yes, that's early for me) After all, my new total of time off of the phone came out to about 2 hours since 10:30 am. I was sleepy from all of the tears and the headache was worse, probably also from all the crying.
Plus, I had another seven days in this hotel room. Might as well get used to sleeping.
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