HALLIA ROBINSON My name is Hallia Robinson and today I’m here with…
LINDA HAYES Linda Hayes.
HALLIA ROBINSON Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with me. Can you start by telling me about yourself?
LINDA HAYES I’m 68 years old. I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey and by my mother and grandmother, a great grandmother.
HALLIA ROBINSON So it’s clear that COVID-19 has impacted our lives greatly. So can you tell me how COVID-19 has affected your life?
LINDA HAYES Well, I would say it really impacted my life in a dramatic way because I’m a dialysis patient. I had open heart surgery and I have kidney disease and, just to know all this is going around and people may be infected. It may affect me and my health. So it’s been a positive effect on me.
HALLIA ROBINSON It’s had a positive effect on you?
LINDA HAYES Yes. Very positive. Because I have children, I have grandchildren. And they’re, they’re limited to things they can do, places they can go people they can see right now. And if one of them goes in the hospital, we may not be able to see them. And that’s a very positive effect on me right now.
HALLIA ROBINSON So it’s a good thing?
LINDA HAYES No, it’s not a good thing.
HALLIA ROBINSON You said positive.
LINDA HAYES It does have a positive effect on me, but it’s not a good thing. It just let’s me know that I have to cover my face. Make sure my children cover up and walk at a distance from other people. It’s a lot of things , I’m hurt that we can’t do right now, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
HALLIA ROBINSON Okay. What safety measures do you have to take now?
LINDA HAYES Well first of all I have to keep my face covered at all times when I go out.
HALLIA ROBINSON That’s all?
LINDA HAYES And make sure people that I am surrounded by cover their face.
HALLIA ROBINSON Is it scary for you to go back and forth to dialysis?
LINDA HAYES Sometimes. All depends on who’s taking me and what kind of attitude they have.
HALLIA ROBINSON Do you fear affecting your family?
LINDA HAYES Yes it is, because my children are limited.
HALLIA ROBINSON What are certain things that you’ve experienced or seen at the dialysis center since the pandemic?
LINDA HAYES Well, a few of my friends have passed and died from COVID. People that I enjoyed talking to, no longer there. A couple of friends were in the hospital and just seeing people on a day to day basis, what they go through.
HALLIA ROBINSON Do think we’ll recover from this?
LINDA HAYES Oh, yes. I really feel that somewhere down the line. God’s gonna take care of it.
HALLIA ROBINSON How long did you think it was going to last when you first heard about it?
LINDA HAYES A couple of months. I thought it was gonna last a couple months. But I had no idea it would last this long.
HALLIA ROBINSON Do you know anyone who might have contracted the virus or passed away?
LINDA HAYES Yes. My friend john, he contracted it and in three days he died. So that was a traumatic experience.
HALLIA ROBINSON Anyone else like a doctor or a patient?
LINDA HAYES Yes, my medical doctor. My medical doctor, Dr. Molokwu. He passed away after six weeks in the hospital.
HALLIA ROBINSON So, what did you learn about yourself during this time? Like in quarantine.
LINDA HAYES Well, I learned that we must cover up. You must be protected at all times where ever we go and just stay clean with our hands and sanitize our hands and things like that. Wear a mask and wash our hands off. I learned that that’s the most important thing, to stay safe. And make sure my family do the same.
HALLIA ROBINSON Those are all the questions I had. Thank you for your time.
LINDA HAYES. Oh, that’s it?
HALLIA ROBINSON Yep.
LINDA HAYES Oh okay.