Confessions of a Covid 19 Survivor: Weathering the Storm

By Mildred L. Norwood Fisher

Confessions of a COVID-19 Survivor is written by Mildred L. Norwood-Fisher. It is the heartfelt story of the pain, suffering, fear, and anxiety that overwhelmed her when she found herself suddenly cast into the excruciating valley of COVID-19. While passing through the valley, she was overwhelmed but eventually rejoiced because of an unexpected victory. In the valley, there were many ups and downs. Many dark days and even darker nights. So many days all she had was her past because her present looked bleak, and it appeared that there would be no future beyond the valley, which within itself was a terrifying thought. Mildred felt trapped in the dark valley of despair. Many times, she felt as if there were no escaping the valley because the walls of the endless pathway were crushing in on her. The dryness in the valley had taken her breath away. She couldn’t breathe. Every attempt to do so was an act of manual labor.

You will also walk with Mrs. Smith as she found herself trapped in the valley in total agony when her firstborn, her only son, Matthew, was tossed into the fiery furnace of COVID-19, left there to die, and that he did. Mrs. Smith found herself locked inside herself. You see, a parent is not supposed to bury her child, yet that was exactly what she was left to do, and there was no escaping that horrible reality. That day, time stopped, and she could not move beyond that even if she tried. You will witness a family that was moved by faith through fate to God’s faithfulness.

This book unleashes the power of God, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as the healing hands of God are revealed.

I pray that this book will inspire, encourage, and bless you as I have truly attempted to give testimony to the faithfulness of our God, “How great is thou faithfulness?”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662468261

Book preview

Twenty-Twenty

2020

The year of perfect vision.

Or so we thought.

The grass will be greener.

The sky will be bluer.

The birds will sing sweeter.

Every day the sun will shine.

Or so we thought.

But overnight, the world changed.

To a place I didn’t even recognize.

Twenty-twenty came in like a wrecking ball.

Claws out, ready to attack.

Ready to destroy lives, homes, jobs, businesses.

Like a hurricane in its perfect power.

Downpours of pain, stress, and discomfort.

There wasn’t even a warning that a hurricane was coming.

No time to get ready for what was about to consume us.

Life took a turn for the worse.

And there was no turning back.

Life as we knew it no longer existed.

COVID-19 was roaming the streets like a lion on a hunt for its perfect prey.

Attaching itself to anything and everybody.

It had no respecter of persons.

Wherever it could take up residence that was its home.

It was not tired when it reached its destination.

It was ready to do its best work.

Destroying everything in sight.

Leaving nothing good behind.

Homes divided, bodies weakened, minds tormented.

Lives lost.

Jobs lost, businesses closed.

2020 shut it down.

Our lives were put on hold.

Everything was insufficient.

There was no balance.

We were in a state of bankruptcy.

Just to make it through the day was a struggle.

Many times, leaving no good dividends.

Life was so horrific; the interest rate was zero.

No interest in nothing.

Life was like one big slideshow.

One picture after the other.

Each picture a little worse than the one before.

5433 BC: Life Before COVID-19

But as for me and My house, we will serve the Lord.

—Joshua 24:15

I grew up in a loving home. Our home was built on love. Love was our foundation. Even in difficult times, love would be the anchor that would hold us securely together. Love sheltered us daily as our parents continued to build on their life-long commitment. I have many wonderful memories of my parents from my childhood.

Our parents were totally opposite. Mother was an only child. Shy, laid-back, kind, and smart. She was very intelligent. She possessed a natural beauty. She did not date a lot. Not because she did not have the opportunity to do so, she just chose her books over boys. She was more intellectually inclined than socially. She was totally different from the girls that Daddy usually dated. However, Daddy on the other hand was from a large family—two sisters and five brothers. He was suave, very handsome, and God’s gift to women, or so he thought. I think that it was their differences that drew them to each other. However, it was their love and joy that set the tone for our home.

They comforted each other in the death of their parents. They helped each other during the storms of their lives, and they celebrated the joys. They recognized the others’ weaknesses and respected the others’ strengths. They appreciated each other and expressed it daily. Our parents’ love for us was like a hurricane in its perfect power. They never judged us and allowed us to set our own expectations. However, they were always there to guide us along the way. They were proud of us when we succeeded and supported us when we did not. They never made us feel that our thoughts were silly or immature even though many times they were. They always reminded us that they believed in us and that we could be anything that we wanted to be as long as we put God first and believed in ourselves.

I had one older sister and two younger brothers. I guess you would say that I was the middle child, and, yes, I was spoiled. In fact, all of us were. Our parents loved God, each other, and us. They loved us totally and completely in spite of our imperfections, and believe me, there were many. We were taught to love and protect each other, and we did. If someone messed with one of us, they had to deal with all four of us.

From my parents, I learned early that love is the most powerful, magical force in the universe. I learned early in life that when love enters your life, it never leaves without transforming you at the very depth of your being. Love turns seconds into moments, moments into hours, hours into days, days into months, months into years, and every little absence into a nightmare. No, we were not perfect, but we definitely were a family who loved each other.

Our parents were the best. We could always depend on them to have an answer no matter what kind of situation we had gotten ourselves into, and they did. They would put themselves in harm’s way to protect their children. They were always there to help mend our bruises, scratches, sprained ankles, broken bones, and later in life, our broken hearts. Their love for us comforted our hearts. Though there were many obstacles, ups and downs, and struggles they always faced them together. The joy that they felt for each other spilled over to us, their children.

Now that I am an adult and looking back over my life, I don’t even see how my parents managed everything as well as they did. We had a happy childhood although we experienced a number of struggles. We were actually poor, but we never knew it. Somehow, our parents managed to keep that from us. Many times, money was so tight that our parents would panic, not knowing how they were going to pay the rent and put food in our growling stomachs. However, somehow, they made sure that we always had all that we needed and a lot of what we wanted. They had to stretch every dollar to the limit, and many times, that still was not enough.

In spite of their circumstances, they reached deep down in their spirits and found peace. That peace engulfed them. The empowering hands of God caressed them. They knew that the fresh wind of God’s spirit that had carried them through yesterday and the glimmer of possibilities that they had seen last week would suffice for the demands of today and carry them into tomorrow. It was a beautiful thing to see their love pass from one to the other. That was the kind of love that I hoped to have one day.

Life was good. I have very fond memories of a childhood well-lived. One of my fondest memories is that one Christmas Eve, my father came home and told us that he had just seen Santa Clause fly over our house. I ran outside staring up into the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of old Saint Nick. However, of course, I missed him. Another one of my favorite memories was my sixth birthday. My entire first-grade class was invited to our house. We had balloons, party hats, and even a clown. We played games and had the best time of our lives. Of course, we had cake and ice cream. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves. I shall never forget those experiences.

I had a great childhood, and I would not trade it for the world. My childhood memories and warm feelings engulf me as I think back and remember. The memories of laughter and joy are impounded in my heart. Every child should have a happy childhood with such fond memories. Something good to remember.

Don’t take this the wrong way. The picture wasn’t always perfectly painted or was my life perfect. You see, I haven’t forgotten about the hard times, the cruelty of other kids, the bullying, and I can never forget those terribly teenage years when I knew it all. However, I learned how to accept my childhood for what it was and embrace it. It was simply a part of the process of my progress through life. As I matured into young adulthood, I learned how to lean into the living, looking beyond my present circumstances, believing that all the beautiful and even unpleasant parts of my life would someday make sense and make me the woman I am today. I have always known that God had a master plan for my life.

We grew up in a God-fearing home. Our parents not only took us to Sunday school and church, we also went as a family. I remember waking up on Sunday morning to the smell of a full-course breakfast. We would eat and then get dressed and head out to New Bethel Baptist Church, the church that played an integral role in my faith foundation. This was the beginning of a life lived for Christ. Our church family was very supportive and encouraged us through all stages of development, helping us to become adults that would contribute to society. There was a wholeness in that church, a tremendous unity among friends and family. There, we were taught to be compassionate, caring, forgiving, loving. We were taught how to hold on tightly and when to let go. We were given the opportunity to develop great virtues, such as courage, patience, loyalty, trust, meekness, long-suffering. Later, I was the president of the youth department. I also did speaking engagements at New Bethel as well as other churches. God blessed me at an early age and used me in His service, and for that I am forever grateful.

My sister and I attended East Van-Zandt Elementary School, James E. Quinn Jr. High School, and I.M. Terrell High School. My brothers attended R. Victory Elementary School, Forest Hill Middle School, and Poly High School. My sister and I did very well in school. My brothers, well that was a different story. My sister and I were in the top ten of our classes. However, we all graduated.

My sister went on to attend North Texas State University. Later, she got married, had a son, Andrew Demond Taulton, and worked for Fort Worth Independent School District where she retired from in 2001. My brother went to work for Miller Brewing Company, got married, and had one daughter, Endyia Dawn Norwood. My youngest brother went to work for the city of Fort Worth, had a son, Anthony Wayne Chambers II, and later was called into the ministry. As for me, I had already received my beauty operator license, so I went to work in beauty salons. I worked in salons for eight years, then I started a career in the electronics field. I started to work for Continental Telephone. Later becoming Rel Tec, then R-Tec, and finally Marconi Electronics. I did very well within the company and advanced. I started out on the assembly line, then tester, then trainer. I wrote the first training manual for the company and was in charge of training all new employees. Actually, I worked there until it closed in 2001. That was a great ride. Actually, my plan was to retire from there; however, God had a different direction for my life.

Our family was not perfect, but because we were always a close-knit family and one that was anchored and grounded in the Lord, we weathered every storm. Even as adults, we knew that we could always depend on our parents. We knew that nothing would stop them from getting to us in times of trouble. They were excited when we were excited and frustrated when we were frustrated. They always listen to us and somehow knew when we were asking for advice or just needed to talk. These memories of happiness will cling to us forever, and not even death has been able to destroy them.

I married Gilbert Ray Fisher on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1975, at twelve noon. It was a small wedding but very intimate. We were so in love. Our love was like a merry-go-round that never stopped. As it continued to encircle, our hearts interlocked, not allowing that circle to ever be broken. We did not take our vows lightly because we know that in the sight of God, marriage is highly regarded. We were so happy. I had my man. Mine to trust. He had his woman. His to love, his to cherish. We had each other. Someone to run to in every dark night and someone to communicate with in every bright and sunny day. We were ready to sail on the love boat of happiness.

Our marriage was a storm of passion with no fear of danger. We were floating on a cloud, and we didn’t ever have to come down. We were sailing on the sea of pure ecstasy. The thunderous echoes and waves of passion were like flashes of lightning illuminating our world. We realized early in the marriage that each day our hearts were capable of giving even more love than the day before. We laughed, we played, we prayed, we even shared our thoughts, and our thoughts intermingled as we shared ideas. We were made for each other. God created us to be together. He looked down on us, His creation, and said, "That’s