Comedienne Iyah Mina on surviving COVID-19: ‘Hindi siya biro’
Image: YouTube/Iyah Mina
Actress and comedienne Iyah Mina revealed that she tested positive for the coronavirus and was able to recover from her illness after weeks of self-isolation.
Mina recounted her experience of dealing with COVID-19 alone on her vlog via YouTube last Thursday, Oct. 15.
“Nakakapraning siya, hindi siya biro. Kahit sino pwedeng tamaan nito (It makes you paranoid, it is no joke. Anyone can get it),” she stressed.
She said she kept her condition to herself because she did not want others to worry. “Sa katotohanan niyan, hindi ko rin sinabi sa magulang ko at saka sa kapatid ko kasi ayoko sila ma-stress (To be honest, I did not tell my parents and siblings because I did not want them to be stressed).”
Mina learned of her diagnosis after taking a swab test before a TV guesting. She said she thought that the result might have been contaminated because she felt no symptoms.
“Wala akong sakit, hindi ako inubo, nilagnat, sinipon, nawalan ng panlasa, wala, eh. Wala lahat, so OK ako (I had no sickness, I was not coughing, had no fever, cold, did not lose my sense of taste. Nothing. None [of the symptoms] so I was OK),” she said.
However, it was knowing that she had the virus that affected her mentally and emotionally.
“Pero noong nalaman ko siya, bigla akong nanghina. Iyong doon mo na nararamdaman iyong mga dapat ‘di mo naman nararamdaman. Nai-stress ako. Sobrang na-istress ako, overthinking like that (But when I found out about it, I suddenly felt weak. It was then that you feel what you do not really have. I got stressed. I was so stressed from overthinking),” she said.
When a barangay official learned of her condition, she was advised to stay in a quarantine facility. With the help of a doctor, she was able to quarantine herself at home.
Among her worries were that she lost job opportunities. “Iniisip ko nawalan ako ng work. Wala akong pagkakakitaan pero kaya ko ’to (I thought about how I lost work. I could not earn, but I could get through this),” she said.
However, she was thankful that she had a mild version of the illness. “Lakas ko rin sa Panginoon, alam mo. Kung nag-positive man ako, at least ito, iyong ganito lang, wala akong nararamdaman kaya nagpapasalamat ako (I have a strong pull with the Lord, you know. Even if I was positive, at least it was just like this, no symptoms, which is why I am thankful).”
On a more serious note, she recalled how she experienced discrimination.
“Na-bother ako doon kasi parang pinandidirihan ka ng tao sa lugar namin. Eh, may diskriminasyon na rin,” she said. “Hindi naman ako na-hospitalize, wala namang nangyari sa aking masama.”
(I got bothered because it is as if the people in our place were repulsed by me. That is discrimination somehow. I was not even hospitalized, nothing bad happened to me.)
Mina was able to get tested before her quarantine period ended. Thankfully, it turned out negative.
Mina is a stand-up comedienne and is the award-winning lead in “Mamu: and a Mother Too,” where she portrayed a transgender sex worker. /ra
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