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I started this blog days ago, and it was completely different. When I started it I was still working, though things were slow. My son was still in school. The world was scary but COVID-19 was half a world away. My biggest complaint was getting NO DELIVERY alerts on my pump.

Now I am at home with a very rambunctious 6 year old and a 13 week old puppy, worried about my Mom, my husband, my sister who works admin in a hospital, my sister in law who is a nurse, the aforementioned 6 year old, and, oh yeah...me.

My doctor appointments are being done via video chat. So are my son's classes. Work has almost completely shut down, though we still have a few people out of hundreds going in to make sure our online services are still working. I'm keeping in touch with staff via Facebook and text and, on occasion, getting out of the house to go to the grocery store.

Mostly we've been at home. And unlike many people I am totally okay with this. Yes, my son is driving me crazy. Yes, I miss talking to more people than just my immediate family. However, we are lucky. We are lucky to be getting paid during this shutdown. We are lucky that even if we weren't getting paid we have some savings (I've read that only about 30-40% of Americans have enough savings to cover a $1000 surprise expense, let alone not getting paid for weeks). We have a governor that was willing to take a massive economic hit to the entire state by shutting down casinos, shows, school districts, and anything else that can be considered non-essential.

Yeah, it sucks. It's frustrating sitting at home, playing video games and reading books and watching TV and playing with my kid and my dogs and no it isn't. It isn't frustrating at all. It feels like a vacation, with the exception of the fact that I am terrified every cough and sniffle means I may have inadvertently put the people I love in jeopardy.

My point is, I don't think I'd survive COVID-19. I am not healthy enough to survive it. I have an autoimmune disease. My mom is over 60. I have relatives that work in hospitals. The level of concern I live with is part of the reason that at my last therapy appointment we doubled my antidepressant dosage. I had to go to the store today- I got winded because I raced around quickly, trying to avoid everyone in the narrow aisles, trying to get the car loaded and unloaded quickly so I could return to the safety of my house. And then I read a bunch of college students went spring breaking because they were young and didn't care if they got it. Guess what?

They got it.

Let's be real. Most of the people I know understand that they aren't staying home for themselves, or just themselves. They are staying at home for the hundreds of people that could end up infected by them if they picked up coronavirus and passed it around for a week before they even felt the slightest bit sick. If you are not one of these people then you need to be. You may only get a little sick, or you may spend a couple of days in the hospital. You have no idea how many of the lives yours intersects with won't be that lucky. I know I am more fortunate than most because I'm financially able to stay home. I don't have to go to work. But if I did, I know I would appreciate it if everyone who could would stay home.  Please.

Be informed. Be safe. Be at home.

Resources to trust: 

World Health Organization (WHO) https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html


List of State Health Departments   https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html