Freshmen Emerge from COVID-19 Battle with Strength, Appreciation for BVU Community
Two BVU freshman Lindsey Anhalt and Jaxon Kirchgatter, who contracted COVID-19, recount their experience, including the support they received from the BVU community during isolation.
Lindsey Anhalt will always remember her birthday in 2020. The Buena Vista University freshman was in college, away from home for the first time, meeting new classmates, new teammates, learning to live on her own for the first time, a period of long-awaited independence.
And she contracted COVID-19.
“I tested for the virus on my 19th birthday,” says Anhalt, an elementary education major from Littleton, Colo.
Anhalt isolated after her test, taking up residence in a room on the third floor of Liberty Hall, the area reserved for students who tested positive. Personnel from Health Services & Wellness dropped off meals and spoke with her daily. Members of Campus Security delivered supper each day. Her basketball coaches, professors, and teammates kept in constant contact through texts, calls, and messages.
“Going to see a counselor at BVU is the best thing I’ve done, I recommend it for everyone. It makes you feel stronger, like you’re not alone in going through COVID-19.”
Jaxon Kirchgatter, BVU freshman
“Looking back, it wasn’t that bad. I made it,” Anhalt says. “It served as a milestone moment for me, showing me how strong I could be.”
“I felt like I had a cold,” says fellow BVU freshman Jaxon Kirchgatter, recalling his experience in early September. “I took the daily BVU COVID-19 Self-Assessment on my phone and reported some symptoms, which led to me getting a red X.”
The red X prompted Head Athletic Trainer Nick Long to text Kirchgatter, directing him to get tested. Kirchgatter drove home to Lincoln fearing he had COVID-19, a reality borne out with a positive test result that week. The freshman pitcher quarantined in his parents’ basement the following two weeks, attending online classes throughout his recuperation.
If there is a silver lining to Kirchgatter’s bout, it’s this: An examination during his recovery enabled doctors to learn he was born with bicuspid aortic valve disease, a condition whereupon his heart has only two valves pumping blood, rather than three.
“Doctors saw something in my EKG that led to an ultrasound, which led to the discovery of my heart issue,” he says. “It has led me to taking more breaks during workouts. I lift less. I drink a lot more water.”
Kirchgatter also began seeing a counselor with BVU’s Counseling Services. As one who has also battled some anxiety issues, Kirchgatter found strength in the additional assistance.
“Going to see a counselor at BVU is the best thing I’ve done,” he says. “I recommend it for everyone. It makes you feel stronger, like you’re not alone in going through COVID-19. Not once have I been judged by anyone for going to the counselor.”
Kirchgatter returned to class in late September. He joined his baseball teammates at practice upon gaining clearance from his cardiologist. He’s learning more about baseball, more about marketing (his major), and more about himself.
The same can be said for Lindsey Anhalt, the power forward on the Beaver women’s basketball team. She became a 19-year-old while battling a mysterious, deadly virus 688 miles from home. She remained strong, attended classes virtually, and kept telling her teammates, professors, and friends she would emerge even stronger.
“When I went into quarantine, I worried I might be forgotten,” she says. “I wasn’t. Everyone was there for me: my professors, my friends, my teammates, my coaches, and our nurses.”
Anhalt made a direct line across campus the day she emerged from quarantine and headed for the offices of David Wells and Alison Shearer, the women’s basketball coaches.
“I joined my team, and we went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards,” she says with a wide smile. “It tasted sooooo good!”