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Lonely this Christmas?

We all have our reasons for taking a coronavirus test this year, some are just because it’s free, but others have a more serious need in making sure they’re corona free this Christmas. One person in crucial need of making sure they’re safe this Christmas is Emily Wyatt.

It’s been a difficult year for everyone there’s no denying that, coronavirus has officially ruined 2020. At least I have Christmas to look forward to right? Well actually wrong.

When everyone was planning when to start heading home for Christmas I was planning what on earth I was going to do in Cheltenham alone this year!

It wasn’t something that didn’t cross my mind, I was awaiting the call from my mum saying I wouldn’t be allowed home, however, I had wished that this moment wouldn’t come.

My dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer in August 2019 and was on chemotherapy until the coronavirus outbreak in March. Being on chemotherapy makes you extremely weak and vulnerable to any disease and with a deadly virus spreading like wildfire it wasn’t looking good.

When the first lockdown was announced my parents were told to shield for the next 4 months which meant they were not even allowed out to exercise.

As if that wasn’t bad enough a second lockdown soon came and it was said that the virus was spreading even quicker. My parents went into panic mode and instantly said I couldn’t come home for the festive period so that my dad could remain safe. I was heartbroken. In my 19 years of being alive I’d never spent a Christmas away from them, I definitely didn’t want to start now.

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My dad is my best friend, I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if I put him at any kind of risk, so how could I blame them for not letting me come home?

I understand his vulnerability at the moment and if he catches anything even the common cold his body might not be able to tackle it, it’s never easy losing a family member but I would like to hold onto my dad for a little while longer. If that means missing this year’s festivities then so be it, as long as I get a few more years, hugs and laughs with him.

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After many tears and ultimatums later, my parents finally said I could go home, under the conditions that I would have to do a coronavirus test and isolate for a few days before doing so.

I have never been happier. During the few weeks where I thought I couldn’t go home I was overwhelmed with sadness and I’d never felt lonelier, I thought for sure that on everyone’s favourite holiday I would be sat alone in my student house, solemnly pulling my Christmas cracker and telling jokes to myself in the mirror.

It is so important everyone with the chance to do so takes a coronavirus test to ensure your loved ones and other families are safe this year, with The University of Gloucestershire offering students free tests it’s so easy to just take that extra precaution and remain safe this year.

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