It is common for parents to go into a blind panic when their child gets hurt.
But what Joy Woolbright-Sotto felt was twice the fright when her unica hija and youngest child, Amari, had a minor accident two weeks ago.
It was the second week of the enhanced community quarantine, and the danger of acquiring COVID-19 loomed over Luzon.
Joy, wife of Quezon City Vice-Mayor Gian Sotto, detailed the experience in an Instagram post uploaded April 7, 2020.
She began, "Two weeks ago! What most parents dread at this time, having to go to a hospital or see a doctor, happened to us!
"My little girl had an accident.
"She was in pain and couldn’t move her right arm.
"I was praying and praying for two days that it would be okay after putting cold compress, but it got worse.
"It swelled and she would cry from the pain!"
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Joy asked help from her friends, knowing that going to a hospital could put Amari's health, and hers, at risk.
She said, "So thankful that friends were able to connect us to a doctor, and we communicated online.
"But since it wasn’t getting better, we needed to get an X-ray.
"Imagine the fear and worry going through our heads!"
So despite her reluctance to leave the house, the 38-year-old mom had no choice but to go to a diagnostic clinic "in full gear."
Going on with her story, the mother of five said, "I was still scared to go, though, but we went in full gear.
"We wore our masks, jackets, glasses, and of course prayers for full protection.
"I drove with Amari and Yaya, and praise God, there weren’t a lot of people.
"Daddy @giansotto couldn’t bring us because he had work."
AMARI REGAINS HER BRIGHT ENERGY
Joy says she kept getting her prayers answered from the time Amari was checked at the clinic.
"To make the long story short, results showed that there were no broken bones, which was exactly what we prayed for!" Joy beamed.
"She just had multiple ligament sprain and a soft tissue contusion.
"She had to be on a sling for two to three weeks, and cold compress thrice a day...
"Fast forward, after a week she seemed fine already."
A week after the incident, Joy uploaded a video on Instagram where Amari was seen dancing enthusiastically during one of their family's "worship nights."
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She wrote, "And after two weeks, she was back to her normal self, dancing and singing.
"You saw the video last Sunday, right?
"It was as if nothing happened! Praise God!" Joy exclaimed.
Aside from Amara, 3, Joy and Gian have four sons—Hugo, 15, Edrigu, 13, Sancho, 8, and Rossano, 7.
Gian is the only son of Senate President Tito Sotto and veteran actress Helen Gamboa.
Joy and Gian were married in 2007, and welcomed their only daughter on May 17, 2016.