Summary(2:31) Whole family got COVID-19. Visits to emergency room -- (6:30) Beginning of epidemic -- (8:45) Partner works on Rikers Island. Tracing transmission -- (10:40) Padlock on local playground -- (12:40) Experience of sickness, pneumonia – (13:25) Yesterday got positive antibody, negative virus tests -- (15:40) Support from friends and family -- (16:10) Took hydroxycholraquine -- (19:40) Preparation for emergency room visit -- (22:50) Trouble breathing, fear of death, tried to write will -- (25:23) Stopping listening to news, obituaries, to remain calm -- (26:45) Confusing information about health protocols -- (32:00) Socializing with mask -- (35:00) Future plans, thoughts of relocation -- (36:27) Works in college access department. Uncertainty about schools, her students’ status in fall -- (41:15) Reopening of city -- (44:00) Video message friends made, like things you hear when you've died.
NoteAudio interview conducted on May 21, 2020, by Maria Luisa Gambale. Collected for the Covid-19 Oral History Project through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
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TitleOral history interview with Enuma Menkiti on May 21, 2020