The Elephant Virus
As you might remember, I’ve participated in a lot of different leadership classes. One of my favorite lessons was to talk about the “elephant in the room”, which means don’t hide from apparent issues that may arise. Obviously, the most significant matter that has changed everyone’s life is the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s about time that I talk about what I’ve been doing for the past three months.
I’ll start with the most important thing. As of this moment, I’m doing fine. I’ve been taking my temperature and following all the CDC guidelines. I’ve left only a handful of times. A few of the times were medically essential. These included visits to the pharmacy, my yearly ultrasound, and to fix one of the braces on my leg. There were a couple of times that I went to get fast food on the same pharmacy trip, but I never left the car and wore masks on every outing.
While I’m on the subject of masks, as a person who is high risk and compromised with my asthma (which is a condition with my cerebral palsy in which I’m not able to breathe as deeply as others), so it’s imperative I stay away from as many people as possible. I know that’s hard to do, and even introverts are human beings, and we are social in some fashion. I’m aware that the masks are not only uncomfortable, but they are also not 100% effective. I know they are almost unbearable because I tend to drool a lot, and my beard is starting to flourish.
The masks are better than nothing, but they are made to protect the people around you by mitigating the spreading of the virus. It’s heartening to see communities around the world coming together to manufacture masks of all types. They have even created masks that include some of your favorite hobbies or fashion types, such as sports teams, comic books, or musical artists.
I know Americans are very protective of their liberty to make their own choices. We have also come together in this time of crisis to do what’s necessary to protect all of us. If I’m not completely clear, please wear a mask at all times in public or outside. For months leading up to the outbreak here, I watched the news about how difficult this virus was on the elderly in Italy. Even the week before Governor Roy Cooper mandated a statewide shutdown; I decided not to stay with my grandparents on the weekends in Salisbury during the height of this crisis. That was not a fun phone call for either us, but I think it was the right decision to ensure none of us become compromised.
Another reason I decided to stay home was that it was practical to stay where I had close access to the sink to wash and sanitize my hands more frequently than ever before. Even during the cold and flu season, I washed my hands as often as possible. I’m not just saying this because he is helping me type, but my PCA Dave has really stepped up by coming over on the weekends to enable me to protect my grandparents. That way, I don’t have to visit their house while my mother goes to work at the hospital at night. Warren, who has worked with me on and off for over 20 years and who you don’t know as well, has also extended himself by continuing to come four nights a week to help me get in the shower and put me in bed. It would be easy for him not to make that decision, as he works full time as a 3rd-grade teacher and has a family to look after as well.
Being that my mother is a nurse, and enters the belly of the beast regularly, one of the scariest possibilities is that she could contract the virus. Then after that, she could pass it very easily to me and others. Thankfully, that hasn’t materialized up to this point. I’m glad she’s no longer working on the floor as a nurse, but she plays a significant role by assigning people to beds and connecting with the doctors so they can communicate their patient’s needs. Mom goes into the hospital, but it’s a side office, and she never sees patients directly. In fact, her hours were just recently reduced because people aren’t visiting the hospital for what are considered minor routine or electives surgeries and procedures.
I have seen a lot of protests across the country to reopen everything and to get back to “normal” life, and I get it. I really do. I would love to revisit the blog I wrote in January, in which I wrote about all the exciting plans I was to be involved within 2020. I would love to do all my outreach to the disability community, but I’m a little bit more cautious than the protestors. In my personal opinion, it’s not quite time to pretend like COVID 19 didn’t happen, reopening too soon will probably lead to more spikes in infections and possible casualties. My grandparents have only visited me twice since this pandemic started, and we practiced social distancing outside while wearing masks. My grandfather reminded me during one of the visits that America has been through different crises, whether it was the Great Depression or a war, we still persevered. As sad as the current pandemic is, we will get through this.
Doctors are working every day to discover more treatments and to help protect more and more people. It appears that they are finding newer side effects and symptoms, which continue to be terrifying. So no, I don’t think it’s time to open up.
That’s how I roll.