‘All three of us had the coronavirus’
Kimberli Picarillo, 28, had long been accustomed to her mom, Patti, tenderly nursing her as a child and teen through bouts of sickness such as mono, surgeries and wisdom teeth issues. But it was Kimberli who had to offer warmth and comfort this past month.
Even though she contracted the virus herself, Kimberli, who works in tech, powered through to nurse Patti, 66, her father, James, 67, and her 101year-old grandmother, Rita Barci, who all came down with it too.
“Watching my daughter take care of me and the way she is toward my mom has been exceptionally moving,” says Patti, of Englewood Cliffs, NJ. “I like to think all those nights I spent on her windowsill when she was sick paid off.”
The mother of three opened up her home to Kimberli, who ordinarily shares an apartment with two roommates in Greenwich Village, and Rita, who still lives in Patti’s childhood home in New Milford, NJ, in mid-March — about two weeks before the family took ill.
“She wanted us all under the same roof just in case,” says Kimberli.
The devoted daughter tended to her parents and made sure that Rita’s meals were left outside her bedroom door while she was kept separate from other members of the household in the vain hope she wouldn’t get sick.
Mercifully, all four members of the family have since made a full recovery.
Now, Rita, Patti and Kimberli are resuming their new normal, which has involved Kimberli and Patti blow-drying the centenarian’s hair and giving her manicures.
Kimberli, who is planning a “low-key” Mother’s Day, says, “It’s the little things that count and show how much we love each other.”