Former tennis pro Patrick McEnroe came out of quarantine this week, a month after he began to feel sick. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 but was able to recover at home, where wife Melissa Errico and their three daughters rallied around him.
His ordeal has brought the whole family closer together.
McEnroe, who is a popular commentator for ESPN, and his family have learned the truth of the old saying that home is where the heart is.
"He said, 'I have a fever and I'm sick,'" Errico said. "And I didn't know if that was going to escalate, you know, it's the uncertainty. I've never felt so much uncertainty."
McEnroe spent a month in the basement of his family's home, accompanied by the family's dog.
"We call him McPepper, and he's been keeping me company," he said. "The toughest part is not being able to say goodnight to my girls."
He added they've been incredibly productive and helpful around the house, as 11-year-old twins Diana and Juliet and 13-year-old Victoria rose to the challenge of helping their mom.
"We've been more of a team, especially when we clean," Victoria said. "And we've helped each other with school work."
She has also found a way to carry on the McEnroe tennis tradition by hitting balls against the side of their suburban home. Her younger sisters are ballet dancers.
"I always have something to do," Juliet said. "Like most people are bored all day. I'm always doing something."
In the McEnroe family kitchen, there is a white board listing all of their activities each day. Online school is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., followed by physical therapy, then guitar, piano and ukulele lessons.
"They're all cooking as well," Errico said. "They're cooking with me. We invented a cooking show spontaneously, me and Diana."
And Diana has noted the difference.
"We probably, before this whole thing, hadn't had a family dinner all together since like Christmas," she said. "Now all of us are eating together every night."
In a dark cloud, the family has found a silver lining.
"I've been saying for a long time that we all needed to slow down," Errico said. "So the best part has been re-energizing with the kids."
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