Savonne and Fulton reflect on their quarantine in a vlog update. Image obtained from Lea Fulton on YouTube.
By Reece Nations, Managing Editor
All it took was a single phone call for husband and wife Lea Fulton and Heather Savonne to have their lives upended by the coronavirus pandemic. When Lubbock Health Department officials reached out to them on March 19, they were informed they may have been exposed to COVID-19 days earlier.
The possibility of the virus’ transmission to them stemmed from a visit Savonne made to the home of another Lubbock couple earlier that week. Unbeknownst to them at the time, one of the individuals in that household had already contracted the virus and tested positive a few days after Savonne’s visit.
Fulton, a two-time Texas Tech alumnus who graduated in December 2019 with a master’s degree in mass communications, said health department officials sent them a packet with mandatory guidelines after instructing them to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Although the LHD guidelines permitted the couple to spend time outdoors intermittently, they could not purchase their own groceries or interact directly with anyone during their quarantine period.
LHD package containing guidelines for mandatory quarantine. Image obtained from Lea Fulton on YouTube.
“Basically, from there I started to document the whole experience,” Fulton said. “That’s what I love to do—I love to create things and document that experience.”
By chronicling their ordeal, the couple could keep their friends and family informed through social media while also spreading a message of hope to those in need, he said. Fulton posted two videos about the quarantine—one during the episode itself and a retrospective once it was over.
Despite the circumstances presented to them, Fulton said he and Savonne used their experience as an opportunity to highlight the power faith has in their lives. Fulton and Savonne were still active in a virtual capacity with Hub City Fellowship throughout the duration of their quarantine.
Although unable to worship at their church, Fulton and Savonne said they still found inner peace through the word of Jesus Christ. Even more so, they took comfort in knowing their church community would be there to support them unconditionally.
“They really reached out to us before we reached out to them,” he said. “In a sense, they kind of knew before we did that we were going to need help.”
Fulton and Savonne’s lifestyle as local musicians had come to a halt for the time being as well, he said. In addition to regularly performing during church service, the couple also play gigs at local restaurants, bars and other Lubbock-area establishments.
With his new-found free time, Fulton said he also used the quarantine as an opportunity to channel his creativity. This culminated in Fulton’s self-releasing his debut album entitled, “Bridging the Gap”, while he was still quarantined.
“The hardest part was not being able to go anywhere,” Savonne said in a vlog. “Even on my days off, I still like to go to the store and I like to go to the mall and just look around.”
Savonne, an alumna of Wayland Baptist University, works as a medical assistant at the Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Institute of Lubbock. Although the quarantine came as a surprise to Savonne and her husband, she said they felt comfort in knowing they were in God’s hands.
COVID-19 screening signage in front of University Medical Center off Indiana Ave.
Despite their brush with infection, neither Fulton or Savonne ever received a coronavirus test, he said. They monitored themselves closely for symptoms and at no point felt the need to see a doctor.
“You know—even when things are uncertain and inconsistent around us—there is still one constant and one thing that is certain, and that’s God and his word,” Savonne said in a vlog. “So, pressing into that more than ever has been a real eye-opener—and heart-soother and mind-soother—it has given me a lot of peace during this time.”
Editor’s Note: More insight into Fulton and Savonne’s experience can be found on Fulton’s YouTube channel. “Bridging the Gap” by Lea Fulton is now available on music streaming services.
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
