COLUMBUS, Ga. - s4story -- While at work a couple of weeks ago, 56-year-old Versandra Kennebrew began to feel fatigued and then chills. Because she is the primary caregiver for her 87-year-old father, COVID was the first thing that came to mind. She went home, self-isolated, went to the Georgia Health Department website, and scheduled a COVID test. Within 48-hrs, she received an email with a link to her test results. Visions of the "COVID Death Ticker" came to mind and her heart raced as she entered her birthdate. POSITIVE seemed to jump off of the screen. She began to slowly breathe in and out, calming herself as the news began to sink in. "I am healed," she began to affirm silently to herself.

After informing her family of the results, she reached out to persons on her contact tracing list so they too would be aware and take necessary actions to self-isolate. While in bed the first 3-days, she engaged in what she refers to as extreme self-care which included hydration, nutrition supplementation, self-massage, breathing exercises, aromatherapy, yoga, and listening to positive affirmations. Versandra believes in the power of positivity as a healing tool and refused to allow the fear of others to bring her spirit down. She was committed to using her recovery time as a period of reflection and healing. Reminded that healthy touch supports immunity and soothes feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression, she recalled the research she had done on touch deprivation. She thought about recent news describing the chronic loneliness many have been facing since we've been separated from one another for nearly a year.

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Her quarantine period has passed and Kennebrew, a COVID-19 survivor is grateful for her health and strength. Because of her personal experience and the research which supports the benefits of healthy touch in immunity, stress reduction, and overall wellbeing, she wants families especially to weigh their options as fear continues to wreak havoc on sensibility during this global pandemic. She wants them to remember the power of a hug when you do not feel well. She wants parents, children, and lovers to know that taking precautions like wearing gloves and masks can prevent exposure and the spread of a deadly virus, and healthy touch can be equally beneficial in saving the life of their loved ones.

"People are dying but who is researching whether the cause of death was a virus or touch deprivation?" Versandra Kennebrew

Versandra Kennebrew is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the author of "Touch Me With Love." Learn more at www.theoptimalplan.com/touch-me-with-love

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