In early November of 2019, I got sick, but no one knew what was wrong with me. I ended up in the hospital multiple times, but doctors brushed off my symptoms and sent me home.

Around Christmas, I almost died, and that’s when I discovered the HVAC unit had been leaking increasing amounts of carbon monoxide into my apartment, giving me CO poisoning.

Since then, I have been trying to recover from the damage done to my body. However, COVID-19 has halted this recovery. The appointments with specialists and tests I need are now cancelled, delaying the care I desperately need. I can no longer go to the ER for complications without fear of contracting the virus. The doctors that I routinely see are no longer open normal hours or at all; I struggle to get ahold of anyone.

I do not blame these doctors for closing their practices or operating on limited hours; I think it is the right thing to do. But I am still so angry that I cannot get the help I need right now. Not only that, but I cannot go to the store to get the medications or supplies I need to ease my symptoms. It has only been a few weeks since this quarantine began, but the light at the end of the tunnel grows further away.