{"id":21522,"date":"2021-05-25T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=21522"},"modified":"2021-05-25T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T13:30:00","slug":"covid-19-survivor-humbled-by-support-from-fall-river-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=21522","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 survivor humbled by support from Fall River community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;93&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;127&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FALL RIVER:<\/strong> Community comes together when one of their own is in need, and for Krista Blaikie Hughes she experienced that first-hand after her recent hospitalization due to COVI-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, the Fall River mother of two was having what she thought was allergy-related symptoms. That turned into COVID-19 and a stay in hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes said she was called by the virtual care team and sent a pulse oximetre to measure her oxygen stats. People are asked to login each day and insert their stats in the app. She got hers on a Monday night and they called her that night telling her they felt she should come in to the COVID unit for a couple days just to get her oxygen levels up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI never thought it would escalate to the point that it did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because she tested positive, that meant her family\u2014her husband and two kids, and her mom who lives with them\u2014all had to go into isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/186852560_376552543733417_3736456548265049524_n-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21499\"\/><figcaption>Krista Blaikie Hughes spoke to Pat Healey about the communities support for her family as she battled the deadly virus. (Dagley Media photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;31&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;34&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She chuckles recalling some of the texts from her oldest daughter while in hospital\u2014as she was sleeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAre you dead?\u201d asked one of the texts. \u201cI know she was concerned. It\u2019s just the way she had phrased it. I had to chuckle at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes response. \u201cNo, I was napping. I\u2019m awake now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While in hospital battling the deadly virus, the community she calls home stepped up to ensure her family was cared for allowing Blaikie Hughes to focus her energy on fighting the fight of her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEarly on, our neighbours stepped up and started delivering meals to them while I was in hospital,\u201d said Blaikie Hughes. \u201cThere were care packages dropped for the kids. My kids love animals so the neighbourhood would bring their pets past our house to visit from the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;7&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here is the full interview with Krista Blaikie Hughes, a COVID-19 survivor.<\/strong> <em>Video editing by: Dagley Media<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Fall River COVID-19 survivor thanks her community\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OqYeQ1NCit8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;92&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;126&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/185011157_748042005877948_4880407484639386465_n-679x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21523\" width=\"386\" height=\"583\"\/><figcaption>The Blaikie Hughes family. (Submitted photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One of her daughters did test positive as well so she had to spend 10 days all by herself in her bedroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe was able to look down from her bedroom window and see the pets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there was more\u2014much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of our neighbours is an avid gardener but she took it upon herself to come and weed some of my flower beds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of the support left her and her family thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was really humbling to see the outpouring of support,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t typical ask for help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know how to ask for help, but our neighbours really took it upon themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey seemed to know what we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;6&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;105&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another neighbour came and mowed the family\u2019s lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes\u2019 daughter Grace is in Grade three at Ash Lee Jefferson School. Her teacher coordinated for each student to write a letter to Grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey decorated the envelopes, they wrote that they missed her and hoped her mom got better,\u201d she said. \u201cTara, the teacher, delivered this bag of letters. For Grace, who hadn\u2019t seen her class in over a month, she was so excited. You could see her light up. It meant a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Sarah, her other daughter, they use more technology, so they have been checking in with her to see how she was doing and just talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of her friends made her an activity book,\u201d said Blaikie Hughes. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing what the community has done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The church the family attends also delivered a care package for the whole family. In addition to that they had prayers from across the region, their own Atlantic prayer bubble of sorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;2&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;84&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/185178986_523193118770464_5205451012662299278_n-992x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21524\" width=\"973\" height=\"1004\"\/><figcaption>A welcome home Krista sign outside the family home in Fall River. (Submitted photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes works for an international company and there have been well wishes sent to her from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI never would have foreseen the outpouring of support,\u201d she said. \u201cIt seems so small to say thank you. It just means so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKnowing that home was well taken care of meant that I could just focus on what I needed to do in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes wants her story of contracting COVID-19 and her survival to show how serious Nova Scotians need to take the virus and public health measures and follow them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI firmly believe that everybody has a responsibility to help minimize the impact,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople have to realize no two cases of COVID are the same, and yes there will be mild cases but when they\u2019re severe they can be very severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you could see what patients go through in the COVID unit and the ICU, I think it would really make them understand that it can be deadly and that we all need to do our part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;123&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an update on May 24 on her Facebook page, Blaikie Hughes said her resting oxygen stats are back in the normal range. She\u2019s walking everyday which is helping her oxygen not to dip as much with movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI can now walk (more like plod along slowly) the loop of our street which is about 1.2 km.,\u201d she said. \u201cStairs are still hard but get a bit easier every day. Fatigue and brain fog still persist but naps and good night sleeps help somewhat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blaikie Hughes said the other thing people have to remember about recovering from COVID-19 is there\u2019s no set timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn my case it seems slow, but it\u2019s progress, and for that I\u2019m grateful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;95&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;111&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;93&#8243;] [adrotate banner=&#8221;127&#8243;] FALL RIVER: Community comes together when one of their own is in need, and for Krista Blaikie Hughes she experienced that first-hand after her recent hospitalization due to COVI-19. Last month, the Fall River mother of two was having what she thought was allergy-related symptoms. That turned into COVID-19 and a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[975,2,50,976,2171,48,2172],"class_list":["post-21522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-covid19","tag-fall-river","tag-halifax","tag-health","tag-krista-blaikie-hughes","tag-n-s","tag-survivor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}