Families all over the word have been affected and torn apart in this pandemic. As family members test positive they are forced to stay apart and some are left with the worry of life and death.

As the year slowly comes to an end, the number of positive Covid cases continues to rise. There are total of 13,007 Covid cases in Hawaii and 7.4 million plus cases in the U.S., according to The New York Times. Two different families were brave enough to come forth and share their story on testing positive.

“I wish I did things differently,” said Ilies Lum, a 28-year-old. “I should have just stayed at a hotel and just took the Covid test. My son is not even 1-year-old yet and he has it. It’s a horrible feeling knowing this is all my fault and the people I cherish the most in life could die.”

A family of four came home to Hawaii sick from a trip to California on February 22. They went to California for their annual Disneyland trip. One week after their arrival home, the family was overwhelmed with flu-like symptoms. 

The mom, Chanel Haug, is a 29-year-old who works at Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe. Haug was so sick that she had to stay home for a week. Her three kids — a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old, and a 2-year-old — were all experiencing symptoms as well. Her two oldest were out of school for a week and a half. Haug didn’t understand what was happening to her and the kids.

“At the time I really didn’t think anything of it,” Haug said. “I thought it was just the flu. So I kept the kids out of school longer to rest but they weren’t getting any better so eventually I took the kids to the doctors and the doctor suggested to get tested.”

Haug and her kids were put on high antibiotics and were instructed to stay home by the doctor. After a couple of weeks, Haug and her kids were feeling much better and got tested again. The results came back negative but the doctor told Haug that her and the kids are carriers and must proceed to be cautious.

“It’s scary,” Haug said. “If it was just me I would be fine, but it’s not. Me and my kids are carriers now and we could get it again. It’s not like just because we got it once already that we are invincible.”

Lum left Hawaii in July to go back home and visit his family in Italy. Lum is a 28-year-old from Italy but lives in Hawaii now to be closer to his wife and child. He came home on August 19th and was cleared safe to come back. Lum didn’t get the Covid test and instead self quarantined at home with his wife and 1-year-old baby. 

A week after being back in quarantine the baby started showing signs of Covid and was very sick. The parents took him to the hospital and got him a test. They waited 24 hours to find out the result and come to find out the baby is positive. Lum and his wife ended up getting tested as well and are also positive. As Lum shared his story he cried because he blames him self. By sharing his story he wants people to be safe and to understand that there are consequences when getting Covid.  

“I wasn’t thinking clearly and taking this serious enough,” Lum said. “I got my family sick because I didn’t take the right precautions. Hopefully, by sharing my story people can learn from my mistake and take this pandemic seriously.”