Testing for the coronavirus can be frightening, but sophomore Denis Sadrijaj found out during spring break that his father had tested positive for the virus. For weeks, Sadrijaj has been living with his recovering dad. Sadrijaj said that his dad no longer requires medication and is doing better day by day. His father was the only family member that was tested positive, so he was isolated in his room. During the isolation, Sadrijaj took care of his sister, brother, mother, and father.

He said, “With him sick, it was kinda hard to run a family because there was no one to look up to. (My mom) was stressed and worried, and I had to be there for her, instead of her being there for me.” 

“Every day I would go to my dad and ask, ‘Are you ok?’ and he would say ‘Yeah’, so I wasn’t really worried about him,” Sadrijaj said. 

However, Sadrijaj remembered a day when his father’s conditions worsened. 

He said, “There were some days that he was doing really bad, where he wasn’t able to stand up.” Sadrijaj said they called the ambulance and sent him to the emergency room because that was the only way to get his father into a hospital bed. The same night, his father was sent back home because his condition was not relatively severe. Three days later, he showed signs of recovery, and since then, no one else in the family has been sick.

He recalled what it was like sharing a roof with someone who has the coronavirus. 

“I wasn’t worried about myself because I know for a teenager to get the coronavirus, it’s not that big of a deal.” However, Sadrijaj said that his mom was the most worried about him because he had asthma, which can lead to pneumonia and asthma attacks if the patient also gets the coronavirus. While coronavirus can be less detrimental to teenagers, doctors have said severe effects or even deaths are possible, even for teenagers as death tolls for all age groups are continuing to rise.

After the experience of having a coronavirus patient in the same house, Sadrijaj spoke about his family’s outlook on the future. 

He said,  “My mom and dad think that our entire family full-on battled coronavirus, and now we’re finished with it and we know what to do in the future.”

Sadrijaj shared his motives on why his story should be heard. He said,  “(I want) to give people hope. Just because you’re affected or a family member has it, doesn’t mean it’s the end.” He spoke about the improvement that his father had made throughout the process. 

A few weeks ago, his father was lying on the bed, having a hard time walking, now he has been outdoors in the backyard mowing the grass and spending time with Sadrijaj.