‘A Very Helpless Feeling’ – Why One Clovis Woman Hasn’t Left Her House Since March

KVPR | By Kerry Klein

Published August 14, 2020 at 3:11 PM PDT

Rachael Goldring Bell snuggles with her golden retriever Moose at her home in Clovis, where she is sheltering in place with three medical conditions that put her at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

A global pandemic like COVID-19 can be risky for anyone, but the risk level is on a totally different scale for Rachael Goldring Bell of Clovis. Born with congenital heart disease, she was later diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and an immune disorder, all of which increase her risk of a severe bout of COVID-19.

Goldring Bell suffers from congenital heart disease, in which the heart didn't form properly, pulmonary hypertension, in which blood can't flow freely through the lungs, and common variable immune disorder, which hampers the body;s ability to fight off infection.

Ever since a trip to Southern California in early March, the 27-year-old psychology student hasn’t left her house for fear of contracting the virus. Here's an audio postcard of her experience sheltering in place with her husband, her parents, two cats and two dogs.

Tags

Kerry Klein

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.

See stories by Kerry Klein