Column: Traveling during a Pandemic
“Okay, I promise I won’t go,” Adryannah Buckley looked at her grandmother in the eye.
She had gone to see her grandmother to check in after telling her mother, Chrysan Pignatelli, about how she wants to travel to Puerto Rico while the flights are cheap. Her friends were all going, flights will never be this cheap again, I can pay for it myself, etc.
“You need to understand the circumstances here,” Margaret, grandmother of Adryannah, pleaded.
“I do.”
Until 5:00AM the next day when she was on a flight; On her way to Puerto Rico.
A few days prior to this discussion, in North Providence, RI, a nervous mother listened over the phone as her son’s doctor explained how dangerous the coronavirus could be.
“If your son were to get this, he would most definitely end up in the ICU,” Dr. Kristen Grimes explained to Chrysan Pignatelli.
Chrysan Pignatelli is the mother of Adryannah (22), Domenic(18), and Santino(8). Santino was born with respiratory issues and has been dealing with sleep studies, tests, and numerous doctors and procedures throughout his life. Chrysan worries that this virus will take advantage of his compromised immune system if it gets too close, but now it’s closer than ever.
“I check my temperature every single day and I’m constantly changing and cleaning everything. I’m petrified that he might catch something from me because of work,” Chrysan said in a panic.
She works in the emergency room of Miriam Hospital in Providence. There have been multiple cases of COVID-19 on her floor at work. She struggles every day between work and home trying to prepare herself to safely be around her own son. Now with her daughter traveling, there is an even higher risk for him.
“She’s 22, Dad. What am I gonna do?” Chrysan cried to her father. She wants to let her be an adult, but how could someone up and leave so fast while the rest of the family was all in need of helping hands?
“She is an adult. She can do what she wants. But she can’t come back here until she’s quarantined for 14 days.”
Chrysan got a note from her son’s doctor forbidding her from going into work because it puts his life at stake every day. She is excited to be home safe with her husband and two of her kids; helping them with online classes and homework.
Adryannah has returned to Rhode Island, from Puerto Rico. She is staying in a friend’s apartment, not far from home, for the next 12 days. She has spoken with Chrysan since saying she knew she made a mistake leaving the family behind at a time like this. She knew what her 8-year-old brother had to live with every single day just like the rest of her family. Not only did she escape the stress, she added to the stress on the family. She is now anxious to get home to see her mom, but knows where she has to stay for now and has been abiding by the rules.
“I can’t wait to see her and squeeze her,” Chrysan says, “but I have to do what’s right here. It just isn’t fair to Santino.”
