Photographer Alexandrena Parker shares with us her visual diary of life in isolation, along with a raw, personal account of life with a chronic illness during Covid-19.

I’ve been at home strictly self isolating with my daughter Ruby and partner Mike for 21 days now. I live with a chronic lung disease called Cystic Fibrosis which affects my lung function and categories me as high risk during this pandemic. As I sit at home trying to find the words to explain how I am feeling and how I am coping, I find myself lost in a tangle of emotions. I feel both extremely lucky to have a safe home and uninterrupted time with my family but also complete fear and uncertainty about the future.

For me this isolation is life or death. I’m not saying I ‘will’ die from this virus but the facts and statistics aren't something I can joke or play around with. In the past I have tried hard not to photograph my daughter too much… conscious to try and be present with her and to differentiate my personal life from my professional life. But at the moment something feels different. I have a great urge to capture this time in our life, to make sure she knows and understands how we came together as a family to protect us all.

She is my greatest joy, my biggest achievement and I feel so incredibly lucky to have her smiling face with me everyday to keep me grounded and positive through this extreme challenging time.