'I missed literally every major celebration in our family because they all happened while we were in isolation.'
can feel overwhelming, particularly for families who are struggling to cope with their sudden lack of freedom and newfound limitations. For one Los Angeles-based family, however, the government mandate to"shelter in place" for several weeks straight has been, well, a theoretical walk in the theoretical park.
"I think, as with the rest of the world right now, you are just thrown into it," Armené told POPSUGAR of her 15-month experience in isolation."There wasn't a chance to figure out how to cope. At the beginning, I was just very numb and incredulous that this was happening, and as days went on, it just started to feel normal."Back in November 2017, Armené — a former grade-school teacher — had just given birth to her second son in relatively unremarkable fashion.
"My mind went blank, and I couldn't process anything our doctor was saying because it felt like the world started to crash down around me," Armené recalled."I remember thinking, 'How is this happening? He's so little. He didn't even begin his life yet and already it could be taken away.'" "I was not allowed to leave the room, even for food," she said of the sparse hospital quarters, which included one small locked window that overlooked a parking garage."My husband would come in a few times per week to take our clothes home, wash them, and bring them back."
There was no question that she'd entered into a depression."I think the hardest part was just being left with your own thoughts," she revealed."I felt awful about everything. I felt terrible I wasn't there physically for Vaughn. I felt like a ghost for Sasoun. I was trying to give him the needs of any baby — love, affection, nutrition — while also being scared out of my mind for his future. I tried to save up the sadness for when he was sleeping.
She'd been moderately active on social media, but it quickly became another flashing neon sign of what she didn't have."Anytime I signed on, I saw newborns who were born the same time as Sasoun at home, happy and snug in bed," she said."Meanwhile, I was pinning down my screaming child in a cold hospital room as he was getting test after test done, alone. I saw beautiful babies in such sweet first family photos.
Armené and Sasoun were transferred to a different hospital for the procedure, and it was a much-needed change of scenery. She'd spend her mornings eating breakfast and listening in to the different groups of doctors as they rounded. From there, she braced herself for another day alone. And because his main role was acting as the messenger of often demoralizing medical updates, he struggled to communicate with Armené. He did his best to share only what he thought she was emotionally equipped to handle, which meant he was often alone in fully understanding the stakes."We would argue about our own frustrations and how we were looking at things," he said.
"We couldn't have live flowers in the room because of isolation precautions, so Michael brought me a really pretty fake potted orchid," Armené recalled."It looked so real that nurses kept stopping him to tell him that he couldn't bring it in the room." She still has it and thinks of how far they've come every time she walks by it.Six weeks into their hospital isolation, Sasoun underwent the bone marrow transplant, and the results were promising.
They made a conscious effort to"meld our family back together. And to"make up for lost time," Armené created the happiest home she could."We celebrated everything, since we missed out on so much while we were in the hospital. We decorated for each little holiday and made everything a big deal. We were most definitely happy to be celebrating life."
Armené would send photos from their"school day" to Michael who admitted they were"heartwarming and depressing" all at once. Just as many families around the world are experiencing to a lesser degree right now, being home nonstop was a special form of exhaustion for Armené. It took a week before Vaughn no longer ran to greet him at the door. Michael had successfully trained him out of that behavior."That wasn't what I wanted, but what could I do?""The first time I thought I might have a cold, I took a box of masks upstairs with me and locked myself in the bedroom." It wasn't until January 2019 that he truly got sick, nearly 10 months into their home quarantine. To be safe, he rented a hotel and stayed there for two nights.
They took dozens of photos of that meal as they began to realize that, maybe, they could"be normal" again. "Every day is a gift with them," she said."My grandfather passed away while we were in isolation, and I couldn't go to his funeral — that hurt a lot, that I couldn't say goodbye and be with my family at a difficult time. I really enjoy every single outing. That hasn't worn off, and I'm so happy to be with people again. I probably talk too fast when I'm with friends because I'm just so thankful.
"That would be the first time his immune system would actually be tested, so we were nervous," Michael said."But he handled it. Three days and it was gone. Did this little guy actually do it? Did he just clear an infection by himself? It was amazing."
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