STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- We thought it was your typical St. Patrick’s Day at home, until we found out our 4-year-old son had developed pneumonia.

He had to be tested for the coronavirus, and we had to self-quarantine.

Our biggest fear as parents was now a reality. So many thoughts and worries flooded our minds: What do we do? Are they going to take him from us for quarantine? Does our 7-month-old daughter have it? Do his grandparents, who live upstairs, have it? Does his aunt, who has Down syndrome and also lives upstairs, have it? How do we work? How do we homeschool? How do we keep up? How do we pay our bills?

Wait . . . do we have it?

My life is dedicated to my family, and to giving back and serving the community. I am the senior advertising director for the Staten Island Advance/ SILive, I am on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, and the SIEDC, along with many other organizations.

Danny “Finn” Ryan getting some fresh air in our backyard during the self-quarantine. (Ryan Family photo)

In advertising, a great deal of my job involves getting people to go out and do things in the community; this is obviously a difficult task at the moment, so my efforts, for now, will go towards trying to help businesses survive this pandemic.

Every morning, my wife and I wake up hoping this surreal reality was just a dream. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

It’s very strange to sit on our porch for some fresh air and see people walk by, make eye contact, and then notice the fear and uneasiness in their eyes; it’s almost as if they believe they’re going to catch COVID-19 just by looking at us.

Work was difficult this week: Working remotely, trying to be present for my wife, who is homeschooling our sick son, and trying to care for our 7-month-old daughter. The stress and anxiety of trying to speculate about possible outcomes was overwhelming. This is our new reality, and we have to adapt.

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WAITING . . . JUST WAITING

This has become more difficult every day. Wait and wondering. I have buried myself in work. My wife feels helpless about our son’s meltdowns, because he has already been more or less quarantined for the past 24 days (we kept him home because of a cold before all this started), and I feel Iike I’m going to have a meltdown myself.

So what do we do? After seven days the doctor has yet to receive the results of our son’s test. Luckily, our son is sounding much better and has not had a fever for two days. Still, the waiting was torture.

We have tried to stay positive by doing fun things with the kids. The Rainbows Over Staten Facebook group is great. We have started exchanging pen pal letters to some friends’ kids from afar. We are getting in as much exercise as possible, all while trying to balance our kids’ needs. And my wife has been putting together a very fun curriculum.

Virtual play dates have become a thing. It’s some real life “Black Mirror” stuff. FaceTiming with our son’s friends so that he’s able to play while having the human interaction of his peers is something we never thought would be the “norm.” It has been weird, to say the least, and so very different.

We took these pictures on St. Patrick’s day, which was the day Finn was tested. Being Irish Americans is something that we always celebrate, good times and bad. We just tried to have some normalcy when we had so many unknowns. (Ryan Family photo)

FINALLY, A CALL

Day Eight and still no results from the doctor. We are now being told to self-quarantine for 14 days because we live in the city and have been to Manhattan recently for a show.

On Day Nine, we finally receive a call from the doctor. Negative! He’s negative! My wife and I can finally breathe. For now.

I have been encouraged by the humanity and care of the people of this island. I have been on calls nonstop to provide resources to keep businesses open. I have been collaborating to help local businesses help other local businesses. It’s great to see how our island comes together in times of need.

Also, I have been very impressed by our local newsroom. Their dedication to keeping the Island informed is incredible. They have worked around the clock to keep our local information current. They are going above and beyond to be a resource to our community.

I am truly proud to be part of this Advance/SILive family.

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