ISRRT_COVID-19_book

Hope
Hafsa Tareq Momoniat
Reminiscing: December 2019
On 3 rd December 2019 I returned home from a lovely holiday in Morocco. The following day I
attended my graduation at the University of Bradford, for completing my PGCert in Medical
Imaging (Medical Image Reporting – the interpretation of x-ray images). Two days later I
found out that I was expecting my second child. I had been told that it was highly unlikely that
I would conceive another child without excision surgery for my endometriosis. Therefore, this
new baby was a miracle.
I knew my pregnancy was not going to be easy because I developed Hyperemesis Gravidarum
(severe pregnancy sickness) when I was expecting my first child, but I felt prepared. By March
2020 I had treatment planned for my Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Pelvic Girdle Pain [PGP],
endometriosis, and plans were put in place to prevent pre-term labour.
I remember having a discussion with some of my colleagues about reports of a new virus
discovered in China. We talked about the potential spread of the virus and the possibility of
it arriving in the UK. Little did we know that the word “potential” would soon become
“actual”, and the word “possibility” would be replaced by “certainty”. We talked about the
impact such a virus would have on us.
December 2019 was a month of celebration. But the New Year would bring major disruption
to the way in which we lived our lives. It would change our norms, values, and social
interactions. COVID-19 would arrive in the UK and a pandemic would hit the world. And as
we discussed the virus, we underestimated the impact that it would cause.
2020! Where do I begin?!
My husband travels abroad frequently for work. In January he returned from Australia and
then travelled to Atlanta in February. He has been grounded at home since his return from
Atlanta (due to COVID-19 restrictions, not by me!).
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