The 28-year-old mother and her baby boy who are Singapore’s 19th and 28th Covid-19 cases have been discharged from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. The two, who were connected to the Yong Thai Hang cluster have now been cleared of the virus.
According to Mothership, in a recent interview with Shi Min Daily News, the young mother discussed her journey to recovery.
Though she was originally admitted to Singapore General Hospital, she requested to be transferred to KKH where her baby boy was put under quarantine after he was diagnosed. To her delight, not only was her request granted, but she was also given a cordial send-off from SGH, during her third day under quarantine. This particular instance dispelled one of her fears about the virus. “I didn’t expect them to accede to my request because I always thought we had to be individually isolated. I never thought that I could be isolated with my son,” she said.
Though having to watch her 6-month-old baby go through various tests such as daily nasal swabs and periodical blood tests, the strong mother said that it was hope that got her through. “I read that Covid-19 survivors will have the virus antibodies,” she said. However, she also shared that as a mother, there were times she felt guilty when she’d look at her baby. “I felt that I did not provide him a good environment, so he had to suffer with me at such a young age. I felt that I had failed him,” she explained. But with the encouragement and support of her family and friends, she was able to take a totally different approach to her situation. “I decided to take this as a trial in life,” she said, as she set her mind to fight not only for herself but also for her son.
Despite being a survivor of the feared Covid-19 virus, the brave woman said that what she is afraid of now, is public shunning. Though she understands why people may ostracise her and her son given their history with the virus, she would like them to know that the virus is not as terrible as it seems. “It’s slightly more severe than the flu and the scariest part of it is how easily it’s transmitted,” she said. “But even if you are infected, there’s nothing to worry about.”
With this in mind, she wants to be treated as a human being. “I hope people won’t treat us like aliens. We too have two eyes and a nose. The only difference is that we used to be sick,” she said.