'It's very stressful': Single Saskatoon mom with medical conditions worries about kids' return to class

Chantel Strongarm is worried about her three youngest children returning to school this fall.

Last year, Strongarm had a heart attack and went through two rounds of surgery. Only 43 per cent of her heart now functions. Six years ago, her then 42-year-old husband died from a heart attack.

The 45-year-old mother of eight also has Type 2 diabetes.

In March, Strongarm had to quit her night-shift job because of her health conditions and the risk factors presented by COVID-19. She can return to work when she feels safe, but that's problematic given her health conditions.

To compound matters, she deals with tight living conditions in Saskatoon. Her brother and some of her older children live with her.

She said her school-aged children, who are in Grades 6, 8 and 9 this year, want to go back to school, but they're worried about their mom's health. 

Strongarm said she knows how devastating it would be for her children to lose her to COVID-19 or complications from the virus and is asking her school board to consider introducing online classes this fall. 

"It's very stressful on me. I can't imagine what my children are thinking," Strongarm told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning. 

"If they bring home COVID and I get infected from it, there's a good chance I'm not going to survive."

Kids will be kids, she said, adding children will touch everything in a school setting.

The family has already had a scary experience with the virus. Her oldest daughter works at a business in Saskatoon that was exposed to COVID-19 when a customer visited while infected.

Strongarm's daughter tested negative for COVID-19, but the experience was terrifying. 

She said she expects her children's school to be understanding to parents who are worried and called for additional funding from the province for schools. 

Strongarm said she'd like to see money for education go toward laptops to help kids attend classes online and plans that include mandatory masks. 

She said her family has just one desktop computer at home, not enough to serve her three kids. 

"I really wish they would come up with a better plan," she said. 

"It's scary out there, just to walk outside, it's scary because people walk by you all the time and you don't know and they might not even know if they have [COVID-19]."