Israel Moses is a typical 15 year old—he’s social, energetic and expressive; and loves being with his friends, playing video games and being active.
After attending high school basketball try outs, the Moses family received notice that someone at try outs had tested positive for COVID-19. While Israel felt perfectly healthy, he decided to do the responsible thing and get tested. Israel and his mom, Kyra, hopped in the car and went to the Brooklyn Park COVID-19 saliva testing site.
A positive test
Less than 24 hours after taking the test, his results were in: He had COVID-19. Because he still had not experienced any symptoms, Israel could hardly believe that he was sick! But to protect the rest of his family, Israel donned his mask and isolated in his bedroom.
With the full family of five working and learning from home, having meals together, and spending time in close contact, Kyra told us that her biggest concern was the virus spreading through the house to her daughters and her husband.
After Israel’s positive test, the whole family went to get tested for COVID-19. Kyra and her daughters, 11-year-old Laila and 6-year-old Harper, tested negative. However, Kyra’s husband, Israel Sr., started to feel ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Unlike his son, he had body aches, a stuffy nose and was even prescribed an inhaler to help him breathe a little easier. Even though Israel Sr. is a very active, healthy 47-year-old, Kyra was shocked at how differently COVID-19 presented in her husband compared to her son’s asymptomatic case.
Preventing further spread
The Moses family made sure to wear masks in the house at all times—during the day and while they slept at night. But they still wanted to have some family connection during this difficult time.
One night, the family went for a masked, socially-distanced walk. Kyra, Laila and Harper walked on one side of the street while Israel and Israel Sr. walked on the other. While it wasn’t a cold night, it was snowing, which inspired a snowball fight. Kyra said it was really helpful to have a sense of togetherness and have fun while still respecting the seriousness of the situation.
Throughout the Moses family’s quarantine, Kyra made sure to have daily check-ins with her family—as well as herself—to make sure everyone was staying physically and mentally healthy.
A full recovery
“Although isolation is difficult, try to isolate for the full time,” said Kyra. “It’ll keep members of your family healthy.”
While the situation was mentally and physically taxing on the whole family, Kyra feels very lucky that the virus didn’t spread through her whole house. But mostly, she’s glad that her husband and son have since made full recoveries from COVID-19, and Israel is back to playing high school basketball.
Children’s Minnesota primary care
Israel, Laila and Harper all go to Children’s Minnesota for their health care needs—whether it’s COVID-19, well-child check-ups, immunizations or sports physicals. Our primary care clinics are here for your child’s unique needs. Our 12 pediatric primary care clinics are conveniently located throughout the Twin Cities metro area so your family can access the best care, close to home—just like the Moses family does!
