I first started to feel a little under the weather round about the 11th March 2020, just after Boris Johnson had given his first speech to the nation but before we had gone into lockdown. I felt very tired and couldn't seem to find the motivation to do much. I had a hint of a headache, but put it down to being a bit depressed by the prospect of being shut in the house for weeks and also the after effects of a very busy week just passed. Two days later I started to feel slightly shivery and then suffered a mild stomach upset, nothing so unusual for me! As the following day, Saturday,progressed, I realised I had a raised temperature and couldn't eat so started to become a little concerned as I am sole carer for my husband who is at increased risk from infection. Sunday saw no improvement and if anything I felt worse again. When Monday dawned, my raised temperature was causing concern and I phoned 111 for advice. After a long wait I spoke to a clinician who then arranged for me to receive a call from the out of hours doctor on duty in Harrogate. She advised me that all cases of fever were being treated as potential Coronavirus infections as research had shown it could manifest itself in different ways. This made me rather worried especially about passing it on to Graham, my husband, from whom I could not self- isolate completely, though we could keep further apart some of the time. My family were very concerned as they could not come near, and anyway Liz was down in London, though David was closer to hand in Knaresborough. The Doctor also advised me if I became worse I should dial 999 and tell the ambulance controller I had a fever and they would know what to do.

I passed a sleepless night from Monday into Tuesday, with my temperature raging and slowly sipping my way through a jug of water by my bedside. I felt very alone, with only Classic FM for company but realised there was something else I could do, and that was to pray. I passed the hours of darkness praying intermittently and rather incoherently for strength to fight this infection and for the strength to continue to care for my husband. I asked God to spare me as my work here was not yet done. Around 5am I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face which helped a lot. I then fell asleep until 8am and realised my temperature had gone down a bit and I felt a little better. I rested in bed for much of Tuesday and slept soundly that night. I woke on Wednesday about 7am to the sound of birdsong and the sunlight streaming through the window. I realised I felt much better and the first thoughts that entered my head were the words of the hymn:

New every morning morning is the love

our wakening and uprising prove;

through sleep and darkness safely brought,

restored to life, and power and thought.

New mercies, each returning day

hover around us while we pray;

new perils past, new sins forgiven,

new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

Now this is a hymn I had always associated with school assemblies and I had always regarded as a bit dreary, but on this morning it felt to reflect perfectly what I had come through and the words were packed with meaning. It took a good while longer for me to fully recover, but these words will forever remain seared on my memory. I shall probably never know whether or not I did have Coronavirus but I will always be thankful to God for bringing me safely through this experience and for keeping my husband safe and well. Now I have the challenge of keeping my promise to God to keep up his work here and now! I also have to give thanks to friends at Wesley who supported Graham through this time and to friends and neighbours who continue to help with shopping and in other ways. I do indeed feel truly blessed to have a loving family and so many good friends.