GLACE BAY, N.S. -- Nearly a week after going public about her husband testing positive for COVID-19 and talking about some of the backlash the family received on social media, Andrea Martin is now infected with the virus herself.

"I can’t believe this is happening to my family right now," Martin said.

Martin was too sick to do an interview Tuesday, but says her husband Sheldon was recently admitted to hospital because he had trouble breathing.

"She's tired, she's exhibiting COVID symptoms, but even before getting the diagnosis herself, with her husband's diagnosis she hasn't eaten, she hasn't slept in a week," said Krista Gillard a family friend.

For now, Andrea Martin's focus is on their young son, who is isolating with family.

"Jonah is exhibiting no symptoms, and he's had two negative tests, so, please God, we just need to get Andrea and Sheldon better," Gillard said.

Martin compares the COVID-19 diagnosis to finding out her son had cancer. Kellen was seven years-old when he passed away in 2013.

"Never once did he say 'Mom, I can't play with my friends,' never once did he say 'Mom, why was this happening to me?' He was seven, he should've been crying over this stuff. Never once did he complain about being in an isolation room for 46 days," Martin said.

Said Gillard: "What that family has gone through, first with Kellen, and now with COVID-19 here in 2021, it's just an absolute nightmare."

Gillard says the support now outweighs the negative comments, as friends and the community rally behind a family that needs support right now.