By Hugo Abbot ’21
Only a couple days after leaving Europe, the Townsend family was showing some symptoms of coronavirus.
During spring break, Wyatt Townsend ’23 went on vacation with his family to Portugal. The whole situation with coronavirus was still uncertain as not much was known, so travel was still “business as usual.” After spending their time relaxing, the U.S. government instituted a travel ban on all who were traveling from Europe, which put the family in a state of limbo. After a few stressful days, they were able to make it to the United Kingdom, and then home.
Not long after, the father, Paul Townsend, experienced bad body aches, a mild cough, and shortness of breath, all of which are symptoms of coronavirus. After being tested, results came back seven days later, which confirmed he was positive.
During the roughly eight-day period being quarantined in his bedroom, his wife, Anya Townsend, had to take over the responsibility of caring for both their kids as well as her sick husband. “Anya was amazing,” he said. “She made sure I had everything I needed and treated me with great kindness, compassion and love.” Mrs. Townsend later lost her sense of taste, another symptom of COVID-19, but was able to keep herself and her kids safe.
Apart from the long period of symptoms and isolation, Mr. Townsend said how the whole experience didn’t feel like “the end of the world.” He had the support from his wife, but activity was limited, even once he recovered, as he was still following necessary safety precautions and staying quarantined.
Although it is becoming warmer and people are still getting out, ninth grader Wyatt Townsend is grateful for government-placed and self-placed regulations, some of which allowed himself, his mother and his sister to all stay healthy. He said, “It is not as scary as a lot of people are making it out to be, but at the same time, you need to think about the pandemic and the crisis seriously.”