How I Survived the Pandemic with My Job at FV@W
by Alexis Jackson, Development Manager at FV@W
At the start of the pandemic, I was five months pregnant with a husband, an 8-year-old whose school was closing, a full-time job and a bad case of COVID. In the months that followed, I moved from Illinois to Georgia where I gave birth and developed postpartum preeclampsia. The fact that I survived all this in good physical, emotional and financial shape owes a lot to my family, but also to my job at Family Values @ Work (FV@W). FV@W organizes for time to care for everyone in the U.S. — including their own staff.
In mid-March of 2020, my husband traveled to New York for a three-day convening. There were lots of people in attendance and no social distancing precautions in place. Shortly after his trip, he experienced a low-grade fever, and though he offered to sleep on the couch, I declined. We still didn’t know much about COVID. Thankfully, he felt better after about a day and a half. Unfortunately that was not the case for me.
Within a week I had begun experiencing several COVID symptoms, — exhaustion, chills, night sweats, and severe body aches. The pain was so bad it hurt to sit or to stand. After realizing I couldn’t smell my shower gel (or my daughter’s sweaty socks), I knew I needed to take things more seriously. I emailed the team at FV@W. The leadership immediately told me to stop responding to emails and to rest. At that time, tests were not widely available, so the ER doctor told me that as long as I could breathe, it was safer to stay home. They gave me advice on ways to care for myself and instructed me to quarantine. Though they couldn’t confirm over the phone whether I had COVID, they couldn’t confirm that I didn’t.
After two weeks I finally started to feel like I wasn’t completely exhausted 24/7. I shared with my team that I was slowly getting back to work and they encouraged me to take it easy. At this time, early April 2020, FV@W had begun rolling back work time to 75% for staff with care responsibilities. This was a huge deal. My husband was still going to work in person and my daughter was in virtual school. I did my best to manage my household and recover while growing a tiny human, but cutting back my work schedule was vital. I was extremely grateful not to have to worry about my job or income. I didn’t for one second have to worry about health insurance if I needed to go to the emergency room, and I never had to choose between paying for dinner or my prescriptions. I was blessed.
Toward the end of April, after about four weeks of recovery and 8 months into my pregnancy, I was doing much better. The continuation of the rolled-back schedules helped significantly, but the uncertainty of the pandemic, virtual schooling, a new baby, and a temperamental job situation for my husband took its toll. We needed family, and we needed it fast. Once again, my amazing job was completely supportive. We packed up our condo in Chicago and hit the road for Atlanta, where my family lives. Delivery with my daughter almost 9 years prior was a breeze and I knew it would be again. Or so I thought …
On the early morning of June 24, my water broke. We were so excited! Upon admission I had to take a rapid COVID test, now standard protocol. I can’t even imagine my own face when the nurse returned in what looked like a full hazmat suit to tell me my COVID test was positive. My husband and I were stunned. They told me I was what they call “asymptomatic.” Thankfully, my husband was still allowed to stay with me. My doctor reassured me of the recovery rates for pregnant women and babies. While I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, I was again grateful for the things I didn’t have to worry about—like taking the time I needed, including a week before delivery and twelve weeks (or more, if needed) afterward. My son was born that evening around 11 pm, weighing 8 pounds and 6 ounces, and, after a two-night stay, we were sent home without complication.
My husband tested negative for COVID, but the ride wasn’t over yet. After being home for two days, I kept noticing my heart was beating hard. I could literally feel it beating in my chest. I used my home blood pressure cuff and the numbers seemed high so I called the ER. They advised me to come in right away. It turned out I had developed postpartum preeclampsia. Wow. Another blow. The statistics around Black women who die from this complication are horrifying. I was admitted to the hospital for another two nights. During the first 24 hours, I was pumped with medicine around the clock. It was awful. I couldn’t have my children with me, and though I could have my husband, I asked him to stay home so the kids felt some degree of normalcy. I can’t imagine what I’d have done if I had to return to work within two weeks like so many mothers. I could have easily suffered a seizure on the job, or worse.
Following my second major hospital stay in one week, I was glad to have three whole months off work to focus on getting better, making sure my kids were okay, and bonding with my new baby. I was two-thirds through my leave before finally being able to regulate my blood pressure after having my dosage increased twice. At about nine weeks I had managed to find some flow with breastfeeding and pumping (no pun intended), and I finally felt “settled.” I can’t fathom how much harder this would have been without paid leave.
In early September, I started to think about how and when I wanted to come back to work. I appreciated having flexible options like part-time days to ease back in. Both our ED at the time, Wendy Chun-Hoon, and our current interim ED, Sade Moonsammy, checked on me and my family regularly. If I communicated a need, it never felt like a burden. I never felt like FV@W had to make an exception for me because respecting a person’s time and need to care is the rule there. I came back to work half-time toward the end of September and returned fully the first week of October. I truly believe if I had been working anywhere else, my recovery – from the first illness in March to my labor in June, and my postpartum experience through September and beyond – would have been much more difficult, if not impossible.
My son, Kaiden, is now 11 months old and thriving! He brings joy to our family and everyone who meets him. I will always be grateful to my team and to Family Values @ Work for their support, and for their deep organizing to win comprehensive, effective paid leave for all.
