Covid Support Thread
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What we need is a time machine to go back and create 1) a national healthcare system, not this for-profit mess we’ve actually got and 2) a fair system of taxation that would actually provide some revenue/safety net for when shit hits the fan. Because now, what needs to happen is that the federal government needs to pay businesses to stay closed and pay people to stay at home so that case loads can start to decrease, then properly fund schools in every state so that they can be properly staffed and cleaned to safely reopen for elementary-age and students who need school services. Also to 3) have properly responded to this crisis in the fist place.
My coworkers started coming back to work at 25% staffing levels last week (with tons of masking/distancing/cleaning protocols in place) and yesterday I developed a bit of a cough and headache…it’s probably nothing, but I need to get tested through work and they can’t do the test until Monday morning. So I get to wait 5-6 days to find out if I have the ‘rona. Ugh! And we have been super careful!! Good news is that my husband and daughter are totally fine. I’m not isolating from them at this point because I’m sure I’ve already exposed them if that’s what this is.
So a pretty rough/emotional weekend for me. When my mom passed in early April it was kind of at the peak of quarantine/shutdown before a lot of the protocols for operating safely had been established and we could not safely travel to Cleveland to be there for the funeral. The plan had been then to all gather a few months later when the pandemic was over and have a memorial. Since it looks like that isn’t going to happen I went to Cleveland to see my dad, who I had not seen in a while.
It was really bizarre and difficult. I think that because “regular” life is so disrupted and surreal anyway, the reality of my mom’s passing was blunted. I wasn’t seeing anyone in person. But going back home it hit me like a truck. She was such an strong presence in that house. Whenever we came home with our families it was always such a big deal for her and she always wanted everything to be super-ready and filled the house with food. And it was so empty without her.
I did get to see my aunt/uncle and some close family friends distanced in their backyards, which was nice. I had trouble keeping it together with them-they’re all so tightly associated with my mom in my mind that seeing them kind of brought fresh waves of grief.
I am really jealous of people in the suburbs who have private outdoor space and can safely maintain some kind of in person social life. There’s not really any opportunity for that in the city.
It was also just odd seeing my childhood neighborhood also pandemicized. Obviously everything around me in Philly has changed but being back to my hometown and seeing everyone distancing and whatnot was bizarre. My reality has been so compressed lately that when I stopped to get gas I went to the glass of the rest area to peer in-I hadn’t seen people indoors for so long that I wanted to see what it was like.
On the upside, my dad seems to be taking care of himself better than I would have guessed. My mom handled so much that I was worried about him being on his own but he seems to be taking care of himself OK. He’s going to get an antibody test this week (he was exposed when my mom had it and had some minor symptoms). He’s socializing with friends outdoors and my aunt/uncle indoors and has been doing outdoor dining and grocery shopping (we’ve tried to get him to let us set up deliveries but he refuses). We got him a good mask (KN95) and he seems to be wearing it indoors around people. But we’ll be a lot less worried if we know he has antibodies.
It’s so hard not to be bitterly angry at how badly the pandemic has been managed here. Not just the loss of my mom, but everything that I would normally rely on to make it through this-the ability to gather with my family and my community – has been stolen from me.
Thank you.
One other interesting episode is that our family friend’s son, who is a medical resident in NYC mentioned that he had been positive for antibodies. He isn’t changing his behavior but it was kind of fascinating to me to think about having gotten to the other side of this.
I know, I wish I had antibodies and knew I couldn’t spread it. I haven’t bothered being tested though, I just act like I might have it. We have socialized with only one couple that we trust, and outdoors only, for dinner. On Instagram this past weekend I saw people partying without masks. A coworker went to a small indoor wedding, no one wore masks. This is all in the northeast too.
@Fyodor, I’m very sorry about your mother. Grief comes in waves, but I hope the weekend back home and seeing other loved ones was cathartic.
@Wendy: It’s really really troubling for the kids. Layer this on top of the racial injustice and you have an entire generation of black/brown kids on the south and west sides of Chicago who are getting lost in disproportionate numbers. VP at my work was talking about what his kid’s private school is doing to ensure in-person instruction and while all very good, healthy steps: what about the kids that aren’t this privileged? That are home alone and expected to have school online? How are they going to fare in 5 or 10 years or is the cycle going to continue? And of course, the unfortunate usual violence over the fourth, particularly against children. People at work talking about all the shootings in front of their homes. The protests and pontificating are good, but where’s the action? I have a lot of privilege as do most of my friends… but living and working on the south side, in an incredibly segregated city (as opposed to most of my friends who stay in the northern half)… I see a lot more of the disparity in resources. I’m rambling, but this is all to say: the struggle of the kids really really gets to me. Who is advocating for them?
Eh, I see nothing but a vast void lying ahead. That United States Of America can only continue to be a decaying crumbling mess.
That is the future of the nation.
For me, I foresee even far less.
Sadly, the people of the United States — by and large — are simply too stupid to ever get it together. This has been proven to me (and the world!) over and over ever since we elected the Not-So-Great Pumpkin.
Everything the Left is doing right now is just… Noise. Useless, futile noise. Signifying nothimg.
I probably won’t post for a while. There just isn’t any point in it. Not for me anyway. I have nothing pleasant to say.
Stay safe, everybody.
@Fyodor I’m so sorry for your loss and pain. Losing a parent would be difficult under the most “normal” circumstances, but during COVID? I can’t imagine. I hope you are taking good care of yourself and your family is in my thoughts.
I spent last week visiting my parents in their state. Took as many precautions as I was able before heading out that way, but still wondered if it was enough. It was very nice to be home. Super easy to socially distance in that area and people were taking it seriously. The week flew by and normally I’m relieved to leave and get back to my life, but this time I was sad. The drive home was fairly miserable with holiday traffic and when I got back to my boyfriend’s I lost my shit while unpacking. I don’t know when it’ll be okay to go back or when I’ll see my parents again and I’m sad they both live alone during this time.
Also, on a more humorous note, I feel like my socializing skills have significantly regressed. I have my boyfriend for company, so it’s not like I’ve been totally alone, but still more or less keeping to ourselves over here and I’ve found myself in a few “social” situations where I’ve noticed myself being REALLY awkward in ways I don’t think I was before. So there’s that.
Oh and on the subject of weddings, I was supposed to be in Portland for a cousin’s wedding this week, but obviously that’s changed. They’re now doing a socially distanced, immediate family only, backyard wedding officiated by my cousin’s sister. But they will be live streaming it, so I will be “going” to that.
