Long Island mom out of isolation, donates plasma for victims | New York Post

Long Island mom Diana Berrent, 45, has chronicled for The Post her entire ordeal since testing positive for the coronavirus. She says:

"Never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would be one of the first people in my area to be struck by COVID-19 and, even just a couple of weeks ago, the idea that I might, as a result, launch a national public health initiative would have sounded like a poorly written script.

I haven’t taken a science class since my freshman year at Kenyon College, 28 (yikes) years ago. And the science class I took was the easiest one offered and filled to the brim with Political Science and English majors eager to fulfill their requirements and move on to the subjects in which they were really interested. If I could go back in time, maybe I would have challenged myself a little further on that!

We are living in unprecedented times. When the balloons dropped on New Year’s Eve at Madison Square Garden, the world seemed full of promise as we crossed the cusp of a new decade. It is less than four months later and temporary hospitals are being set up in Central Park. I weep for my city. I fear for our country. But I still have hope that we can come together to stem the tide of this pandemic.

I started the Survivor Corps, a grassroots effort to identify survivors and connect them with research institutions so their antibodies can be used to potentially save the lives of others. I am now fully in the clear (and according to new New York guidelines have been in self-isolation for a week and a half longer than would now be advised, although I’m happy to have been exceedingly cautious – it’s not like I had anywhere to go) but will continue to practice social distancing until it is proven how long one can shed the virus.

I have big plans today. I am going to be Participant #0001 in Columbia Presbyterian’s effort to recruit survivors to donate their blood and plasma! And on Wednesday I will do the same thing at Mount Sinai, where coincidentally I was born. I have signed up for every study I have found and am creating connections, through Survivor Corps, for others to do the same.

What started out as a fleeting thought a week and a half ago has morphed into a group of over 13,000 members. When I can’t take watching the horror on the news I tune into the Survivor Corps group and I am heartened by the tremendous drive of Americans eager to help others. Take my blood. Take my plasma. Swab my nasal passage over and over again. If it can potentially save a single life it would be nothing less than a miracle.

I’ve never started anything before other than my own photography business. I didn’t know much about public health. But I had an idea and the drive and the power of social media, which quickly turned into traditional media. I have, in the last week, done interviews on almost every network — across the political spectrum, because this virus doesn’t understand political affiliation just like it doesn’t understand borders or timelines. It is a stark reminder that the drive to do good can be an inspiration to others and most people just want to help in any way they can. Times have never been bleaker but I hope that Survivor Corps becomes the epicenter of hope.

On a personal note, I can’t wait to hang out with my kids and my husband. During my isolation in my bedroom, my husband managed to work from home while also taking care of our kids — he’s truly an amazing guy and I’m so lucky to have him, even with his new quarantine beard.

My 13-year-old daughter Zelda managed the transition to online learning completely on her own, with no one having the time to check in on her. She adapted beautifully and gave me confidence that she is capable of so much more independence than she would have otherwise taken on.

My 11-year old-son, Spencer, who could barely make a bowl of cereal before this, can now make the world’s best cheeseburger. And his goals of becoming a YouTube card thrower are just a little (well… very little) closer to reality. I’m pretty sure my husband and I have been his only viewers but he’s a kid on a mission.

Thank you for following my journey through COVID-19. I know that I am one of the lucky ones and I pray for those who aren’t. But I will be praying with my feet moving.

Please be safe. Stay home. Act as if you are already infected and everyone you infect is either your best friend or your grandma. And join Survivor Corps. Be a superhero."

#COVID19 #Coronavirus

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