After 17 months, my husband and I thought it was OK to let our guards down when it came to COVID-19. We were wrong.

Since March 2020, we did everything asked of us by professionals, elected officials, and experts. Work from home, home school, wearing masks in all public places, getting vaccinated when eligible, car parade birthdays, lots of Zoom calls with friends and family. We have done everything we could as parents to protect our kids, Jacob and Hannah. But even the strongest walls of protection can develop cracks. In our house, the crack split open on July 7.

Leading up to that day, mask mandates had been lifted, cases had dropped, and many in the country — and our region — had been vaccinated against the virus. Because of that, we’d slowly started to live a more normal life — with some precautions.

Whether it was returning to dining at restaurants, going to the Shore, getting ice cream, going to baseball practice and games for our son, we remained cautious. Despite the calmness setting in early summer, we continued to wear masks in public places, even though my husband and I were vaccinated. We carefully considered when to push the limits and when to back off. And for a few months, it felt as if even experts and officials were encouraging us to get back to what we did before we’d ever heard of COVID-19.

That’s why we thought it was safe to have a family member visit from out of town, even though they were unvaccinated. Before they arrived, we agreed they’d only come under one condition, a negative COVID test result. When they entered our home on July 7, we felt confident in the negative test taken just two days before their arrival. All was cheery, joyful. It was wonderful to share hugs and kisses with this person we’d missed so much!

The next day, the walls we built came tumbling down.

Our family member began to show signs of aches, pains, coughing, and shortness of breath shortly after they arrived at our home. They took a test and it came back positive. (One lesson learned: Don’t always trust a rapid test result. If someone is at the beginning stages of COVID-19, it more than likely won’t show up on a rapid test.)

That very same night of the positive test, I walked in from work at 11:30 p.m. and did my normal routine of kissing the kids goodnight. Hannah was fine, but Jacob was burning up with a 102.5 fever.

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We took Jacob to CHOP to be tested and reality struck with a positive PCR test. Our son was infected within 48 hours of exposure.

“Our hard-fought 16 months of protection and health, out the door.”

In that very instant, my husband and I knew the nightmare we’d been trying to avoid had become reality.

Our hard-fought 16 months of protection and health, out the door.

COVID-19 running through the body of a child who had no choice of medical protection from a vaccine.

For days, Jacob was miserable, dealing with a high fever, cough, and chills.

Two days after Jacob’s positive test, Hannah also tested positive, though thankfully she was nowhere as sick. As a parent of a child with COVID-19, you are watching the kids like hawks every second of the day and night as anything can change in an instant.

My husband and I were emotional wrecks, all while our visiting relative’s condition worsened, and ultimately wound up having to go to the hospital for a day. Night after night, day after day, we were holding our kids, snuggling with them when they broke into a round of deep chills, answering their questions, and waking up to feel them multiple times a night. It was all so scary to watch and wonder what comes next.

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As the days passed and our patients’ conditions changed, it quickly became an emotional battle for my husband and me. It was a challenge to care for our relative who was very sick, while knowing that they were the one who infected our children with this serious illness. As parents, we felt rage about our children being sick, but as my relative got sicker — at times, barely able to walk or breathe — we had to put our anger on the back burner. Even though I was furious, I knew it was not the time to lay into them about how they’d made the wrong decision to not be vaccinated.

And then I got sick.

Thirteen days into our ordeal, I developed pink eye. I called the doctor and got both a rapid and PCR test. The rapid test was negative, which, in that moment, felt like an enormous relief.

But the next day I developed severe cold symptoms. Then a nasty itch rash broke out on my torso. It was so uncomfortable I couldn’t shower. I returned to a physician and took another rapid test. It was positive. Two hours later, my PCR test from earlier also came back positive. Again, we’d been fooled by the false negative on a rapid test.

Fortunately, I had the vaccine, which I believe prevented me from feeling even worse or suffering as my unvaccinated family member did. I had symptoms like aches, chills, extreme fatigue, loss of taste and smell. Though the vaccine does not fully protect us from getting the virus, I believe it protected me from becoming seriously ill. I did not require hospitalization and I was not afraid for my life, because the vaccine helped keep me safe.

Like me, our nanny also was infected with COVID-19, almost certainly as a result of her exposure to us. She had a series of symptoms, but she too did not need medical attention. Our circle is a living example of how highly contagious this virus is; just one person passed it on to four people.

It’s been a few weeks since this happened. Today, we are healing as a family both mentally and physically. We pray for each family affected by COVID-19, especially those who have lost a loved one. Thanks to the vaccine, my husband remained healthy — and consistently tested negative — even as everyone in our house received positive test results and got sick.

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Stricter measures are in place for our family moving forward. We continue to wear masks. Until our kids are vaccinated, we will not allow them around unvaccinated people in any situation.

Some may say they are protected after having the virus, but this is not always true. My doctor informed me that anyone — vaccinated or not — can get the virus again after healing from it. The delta variant is spreading fast and furious, and as a parent, I am terrified of the thought that my kids could possibly deal with this again. Our kids will be wearing masks this fall in school. I feel grateful that since this all began, they have never once complained about wearing them.

Since our ordeal, I’ve wondered a lot about how we got here.

Each time we put a foot out the front door, the steps we take intersect with others. Life is about navigating a river with many twists, turns, and waves along the way. We all need to respect each other — pandemic or not — each time we walk out that front door.

Recently, our family member told us: “I am so sorry. I was selfish to think this was a personal choice. I never really thought I would get this or pass it on.” More important, they are planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine once they are healthy and strong.

After watching my family — especially my children — suffer through this virus, I have a message for those who choose not to get vaccinated: Please stay away from children under the age of 12 and those who are immunocompromised and can’t be vaccinated. Please wear a mask everywhere you go. Please follow distance guidelines. Please limit indoor visits anywhere.

If you are making the choice not to be vaccinated, you’re making that choice not just for yourself but for everyone you come in contact with. We can’t go back to normal just yet. It’s up to you to do the right thing to keep the rest of us safe.

Adam Joseph is a meteorologist for 6ABC Action News. For over 17 years, he’s loved forecasting and delivering the weather, a job he dreamed about from a very young age.