“I did have a feeling COVID-19 was going to be all around the world eventually, but knowing it is like the flu but worse, and that it could kill you, is scary,” eighth grader Sabrina McCombs said. 

McCombs is like any other middle schooler, reaching the end of her middle school career and preparing to start high school. Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have shut down for the rest of the school year.

McCombs was worried about her health due to previously contracting the Influenza A virus. She was told she has a strong chance of contracting COVID-19 because of her weak immune system and her asthma. 

McCombs described influenza as ‘Strep throat, but worse,’ because it affected her nostrils and throat, stressing her entire body and making her feel weak. 

Influenza is a respiratory disease, which is caused by an infection of the respiratory tract by an influenza virus. Symptoms include fever, aches, pains, coughing and sore throat.

“As a mother, I was worried because she has asthma. And with her having asthma, it can be harder for her to breathe,” McCombs’s mother Nina Churcher said.

The fact of knowing her daughter could test positive for the virus is nerve-wracking because people with asthma and with weak immune systems can contract it easily. McCombs’s cough and shortness of breath were possible indicators of COVID-19. 

“Cleaning or going up or down the stairs affects me because I have heart and lung problems. I am also a senior citizen, I worry about my asthma and Sabrina. Asthma and lung inflammation is a family trait, it happens in our family,” McCombs’s grandmother Lajune Johnson said.

McCombs was put on strict quarantine watch with weekly virtual check-ups from doctors. Doctors wanted to make sure her fever and health was improving before making contact with family.

“When I get up it makes my legs feel weak for some reason, and makes my head hurt when I get up. So it is like blood is rushing to my head when I am laying down and when I get up it is like a waterfall,” McCombs said.

Her situation and outcome is unknown at the moment, because testing for COVID-19 is difficult. The McCombs family hopes Sabrina’s symptoms do not worsen and she becomes healthier. 

“My doctor said if I exercise more and train my lungs to get wider and more built up, I will get healthy again,” McCombs said.