Age and underlying health conditions are more obviously connected to how symptomatic or sick someone will become from the virus. Maitha Jolet posted a video to the Marshallese tri-state Facebook group from his hospital room at the end of May. Born in Ebon and living in Majuro, he moved to Utah and later Iowa for a better life. Now almost 60, he has recovered from covid but he was hospitalized for 20 days. When he was younger he was treated in a hospital in Hawaii for 6 months, but he says that was nothing compared to 3 weeks with covid. Isolated in a room, the only person he ever even barely saw was a doctor in the morning, afternoon and night. He had never had pneumonia before covid. He said, “Ke iaar delon iaar lomnak ebwe wot ao ejmour. Alikin ao likiti ilo bed emoj lo hell.” Before this he thought his health was okay but soon he had gone to hell. He held onto the hope that God would guide him true: “Juon kajetdikdik ebed ippa ke Anij ej ial eo im mool eo.” He is grateful that covid has not yet spread to the Marshall Island but only God knows if it still will. But, in Iowa, where Marshallese people work in hotels, factories and nursing homes, their only option for healthcare has been the Pacific Islander Health Project. His advice is to follow the public health guidelines to protect your families and reduce the spread of the virus because it is “juon naninmej ejaje manit, ejjelok an kolmelokjen, ejjelok an tiramo.” This is an illness that knows no culture, shows no mercy and is beyond understanding.
In Arkansas, Marshallese and Hispanic alike, have been overwhelmingly affected by covid and Springdale was not much more prepared. At the end of March, the mother of Jon Rojas had developed covid symptoms and gotten tested. Springdale resident Jon Rojas is only 27 years old so he thought he only really needed to worry about his mother. A photographer and graphic designer, he cancelled a few scheduled jobs and he also got tested for the virus. When he stopped responding to messages from friends or posting on social media, his friends feared the worse. After four months, he is still in the hospital. His mother was only sick for a week, but the doctors had to put Rojas into a medically induced coma twice, once for a month and again for two weeks, for treatment. He said he had nightmares. Between the isolation and the medication, he began having hallucinations. The virus not only affected his breathing but also led to some blood clotting that has caused him to lose the ability to use one of his arms. He is currently in physical therapy and hopes to recover movement. He said that Springdale was “not at all prepared for this.” Half of the patients from Springdale were transferred to Little Rock. While some people may experience no or only mild symptoms, other families have been quarantined and individuals hospitalized for weeks and even months. There is no guarantee that youth or blood will protect anyone exposed especially since the virus is contagious for nearly a week in people that do not even have symptoms.