Exactly a month in their marriage, Javier and Steph already well understood what it meant to be together in sickness and in health. Javier tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a friend’s wedding early in March, and so Steph had to take care of him while they were both in home quarantine. What should have been a fun time to ease in slowly from single life to married life was suddenly replaced with uncertainty, confusion, and a whole lot of praying and waiting. But just like in any difficult situation, the sun shone brightly for both of them at the end and they can’t be any more grateful! Steph tells us their story.
“There was really nothing much I could do aside from just be there with him through the entire journey, monitor his progress and remind him to take his meds. I tried to cook whatever food he was craving for and tried to cheer him up whenever the information was already too much. I kept a cheerful disposition when he would start to worry, do as much household chores as I could, and procure all our groceries, medicine and supplies as efficiently as possible.” -Steph
“We had just arrived from a friend’s wedding in Bohol, which also doubled as a semi mini-moon of sort, when all the fiasco happened. My husband got sick and had all the common symptoms for COVID-19 except for diarrhea. We had a feeling it was COVID, but a part of us was also justifying that maybe it’s just fatigue and our bodies telling us to take a break. When the test results were released and we found out he indeed tested positive, I had this heavy unexplainable feeling right at the pit of my stomach.” -Steph
“Since it’s a new disease with very few proven facts, we were getting different sets of advice from different doctors, different POVs depending on who you talk to, different news articles and findings everyday. There were times wherein we really didn’t know what to do. What worked for us was trusting our gut.” -Steph
“Our marriage vows were put to test: “in sickness and in health” in the most literal sense. I was never the homemaker material who would cook, bake or even spend time in the kitchen, but this experience pushed me to step up. I decided to unleash the inner Martha Stewart in me and learn things I never thought I could do. Whatever food my husband was craving for, I tried to cook with love.” -Steph
“Thankfully, my husband’s symptoms were fairly manageable, so we’ve been really counting our blessings everyday and finding ways to give back to society and help others in need. My husband has been busy working with various hospitals to donate his plasma (which contains the antibodies he developed against COVID) to other COVID critical patients, and he’s been trying to inspire other COVID-recovered patients to do the same.” -Steph
“I’m definitely one proud wife that my husband is going the extra mile to help others. We don’t know for sure whether it is indeed possible for COVID survivors to get reinfected, and we’re all still discovering a lot of new things about this virus on a daily basis, but one thing’s for sure—we will continue to give back and help in any way we can.” -Steph
As a celebration of love and life, now is a beautiful time to look back and reminisce the perfect day of Javier and Steph through the shots of Nicolai Melicor that happened in Boracay last February.
