A Foothills area mother is providing plenty of hugs to her two children after her bout with COVID-19.
“I am now able to hug them, kiss them, anything, it’s been awesome,” said 29-year-old Leah Beingessner, who got the all-clear on March 27. “That was a great way to celebrate.”
She first tested positive for COVID-19 on March 14, two days after arriving home from WestJet Flight 2311 from Cancun on March 12 (she immediately self-isolated after touching down at Calgary International Airport).
She got the clean bill of health on March 27.
I woke up and was completely asymptomatic, meaning I feel 100 per cent better and I am not experiencing any more COVID-19 symptoms," Beingessner said. "I had my daily follow up call with the nurse from the Centre of Disease Control on March 27, where I was then released from my personal self-isolation."
She was out doing errands on March 30.
“Actually, I am out for the first time right now to get some groceries… It seems surreal. I am nervous, I don’t know why," she said.
She is out, but living the new norm, practising safe-distancing.
Ironically, her husband and two children are still quarantined until April 6 at their home north of Okotoks – despite being healthy and not showing any symptoms of COVID-19.
“Yeah, they are kind of getting the short-end of the stick,” Beingessner said with a chuckle.
She added she has received strong support from the community – for the most part – since she went public with her COVID-19. Her story was covered on radio, television and print.
“I would say my biggest message is to lean on the community and friends – it’s okay to ask for help,” Beingessner said. “We had multiple people bring us food.
“Now I text a few friends: ‘Hey, I am out do you want anything for the week?’
"That way we can keep that social-distancing."
As of March 31, the Alberta government was reporting 754 cases of COVID-19 in the province, with five in the Okotoks-Priddis area.
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