My name is Sam Hillman and I am currently an 18-year-old freshman studying Chemistry at the University of Kentucky. This blog is a part of a class I'm taking, GEO 261: Global Dynamics of Health & Disease. I come from a small town in rural, upstate New York in the greater Buffalo area. The area I'm from is predominantly white and middle class. My town, which consists of a population of roughly 10,000 residents, has seen 82 total SARS-CoV2 cases to date which is considered to be relatively good. While I am not extremely close to anyone who has tested positive for the virus, I do know people who have contracted it. One person I know who had it had a fever and mild symptoms for several days and his girlfriend never showed any symptoms or signs of catching it from him, regardless of driving him to the hospital. It is believed that he got it when the pandemic first started from the airport, but he couldn't trace an exact moment where contact seemed close. With my mom being a medical office receptionist and me being a pharmacy technician, we were working at the frontlines amidst the worst of the virus and know what some of the struggles were of being an essential worker during this trying time. Keep reading to find out more about me and my COVID-19 story.
