Oklahoma state Rep. Emily Virgin grateful for parents COVID recovery

Standing in the parking lot of St. Anthony Hospital, Emily Virgin was consumed with one thought.

Would she ever be able to hug her mother again?

Cindy Virgin, Emily’s mother, had tested positive for COVID-19 early in October but had been managing it at home under the care of her husband Blake, who had also tested positive for the virus.

But a week into isolation at home, Cindy, 65, saw her oxygen levels begin to drop fast.

A doctor warned the family that Cindy needed critical care if she was going to make it through the next 48 hours.

“It happened so fast,” said Virgin, 34. “I think if a doctor had not specifically recommended she go to the hospital then I’m not sure she would have.

“We thank God she did.”

Virgin met her parents at the hospital entrance, watching from a distance and giving an encouraging wave as they made their way in.

“To think that could have been the last time I could have seen her,” Virgin said. “Not to be with her, having to rely on strangers to update you on how she’s doing, thinking about her all alone is gut wrenching.

“And then to have my dad have to go to the hospital too, that was just a nightmare.”

Within days of each other, both of Virgin’s parents were hospitalized battling COVID-19 infections. Cindy Virgin, who has asthma, spent six days in the ICU while Blake, 65, was a floor above recovering from double pneumonia caused by the virus.

Virgin, the Oklahoma House Minority Leader, has been a vocal advocate for mask mandates, a fierce critic of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s handling of the pandemic in Oklahoma and a staunch supporter for doctors and nurses on the front lines in the state.

But as both her mother and father were hospitalized with the coronavirus, future political aspirations and daily concerns dropped away.

She became was just another of the thousands of Oklahomans scared for the health of a loved one and praying for some saving grace.

“This virus robs families of so much,” Virgin said. “It’s given me this really personal perspective of what families are going through and what the fight our healthcare workers are seeing every day.”

Virgin said it’s never been easy for her to just sit back and wait. At age 24 she was elected to the Oklahoma House while still in law school at the University of Oklahoma.

That proactive trait is one she picked up from her dad Blake, who was the youngest Moore City Council member at age 20 in 1975 before later serving as a municipal court judge for more than three decades.

Virgin said her mother is the glue that holds the whole family together. The oldest of six children herself, Cindy is a selfless woman who worked as a pediatric nurse.

“Everything you want in a mom she is,” Virgin said. "In a way it was probably good it was her to go through the hardest of this because she's the toughest of us."

But Virgin said she’s also learned strength and resilience through her parents 42-year marriage.

Virgin said her parents have much different personalities, but watching them handle tough times with love and laughter has given her an example to live by.

“The No. 1 thing they do is laugh together,” Virgin said. “No. 2 is they laugh at each other.”

Eight days after watching her mother walk into the hospital, Virgin was there again in the parking lot as Cindy was discharged.

Two days later Blake was also well enough to return home.

“This kind of made us really think about things that are important,” Blake Virgin said. “Certainly makes you a lot less angry over small things when you realize how close you can come to losing your soul mate.”

Blake Virgin said he's unsure how he or his wife contracted the virus. They've stayed at home throughout much of the pandemic, only leaving for necessary trips to the store or to pick up food and always wearing a mask while out.

The couple is still feeling the lingering effects from the coronavirus, they both say they are feeling much better and have tested negative. They are constantly singing the praises of the hospital staff that watched over them at St. Anthony's Hospital, including Dr. Ryan Dennis.

The couple talks frequently about the weird disconnect they feel now that they've lived through some of the worst effects of the virus. Hearing people around them or seeing reports on TV of people still denying the severity of the pandemic makes them both frustrated.

"You just want to tell people, 'Hey this is real,'" Blake Virgin said. "It shouldn't take people getting sick and dying for everyone to understand that."

As people across the country and in Oklahoma debate about how to celebrate Thanksgiving together this year and whether to follow the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for gatherings, there is no debate in the Virgin household.

Emily is spending Thanksgiving with her mom and dad while her brother and his family celebrate separately.

It’s not ideal, but while standing in the hospital parking lot watching her parents enter the hospital, Emily Virgin said she began to take stock of what was truly important to her.

“You sorta bargain with all the things you would give up for them just to be ok,” Virgin said. “I just kept thinking about the moment when I could finally hug my parents and we could just be all together again.”