Category: Illness

Living From Day to Day

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

beautiful-sunset-sky-with-birds-royalty-free-image-865856136-1547059564Regardless of what may be happening with respect to the rest of the population I won’t be leaving my home to resume my normal activities anytime soon. My cautionary tendencies are screaming at me to take a wait and see approach to attempts to restart my routines once again. In spite of my own feeling that I am not one of the vulnerable ones despite my age, I happen to live with someone who has heart disease and I love him enough to make a few sacrifices to keep him safe. Besides, I have no assurances that my body would respond well to an infection of Covid-19. I may be kidding myself in thinking that I am made of steel.

Years ago my husband, my mother-in-law, and I came down with hepatitis A. They sailed through a relatively mild two week case while I spent three months sapped by the illness with my doctors wondering if I would ever become well again. I did finally overcome the infection but I spent over twelve weeks in quarantine, only leaving my home to visit my doctors. It took me many more weeks to regain my energy.

I suppose that my point is that I am not ready to take any unnecessary risks so I will continue staying home until it is very clear that the danger has passed. In the meantime I know how to keep myself busy but I will surely miss my encounters with people. I know that my writing has become a bit boring. I tend to find my inspiration by being part of the world at large. For now I am limited to watching my neighbors from my front room window and checking the pulse of humanity from posts on Facebook and news stories from journalists who don’t necessarily share my views. My borders have become smaller and smaller but I feel guilty to complain because my “prison” is filled with luxury.

Last year around this time I was in London. Perhaps the most fascinating place that I visited was the London Tower, home of Willam the Conqueror and countless monarchs which eventually became better known as a place of imprisonment and execution. I walked through cold stoney rooms where people had spent years languishing in isolation as criminals. They left intricately carved graffiti on the walls that speak of their frustration even centuries later. My temporary time of being shut off from society does not hold a candle to what they must have endured so I know that one way or another I will manage to get through this.

My head is filled with so many questions and concerns that it’s sometimes difficult for me to string words together in a coherent sentence. I am a thinker by nature but I have to be careful not to let my thoughts take me too far down a rabbit hole. I’d be much better off doing something constructive like Sir Isaac Newton who invented Calculus after he was sent home from Cambridge during a plague. I doubt that I will ever be quite that brilliant but it inspires me to use my time constructively rather than dwelling on possibilities that may or may not unfold. Perhaps I may use this time to relearn Calculus since I haven’t done anything in that realm since I was eighteen years old. I might even end up with a healthier mind.

It’s not as though I am incommunicado. I still speak with family and friends. Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype have been godsends in keeping me linked with people. I send texts and voice my feelings on Facebook. I read voraciously. The world is literally at my fingertips in one form or another. My worst days stuck inside are indeed mostly pleasant.

I found a list of books about plagues on the BBC website. I bookmarked the article that outlined the various volumes. It might be fun to take a look at some of them. I read The Plague by Albert Camus when I was in high school and recall being fascinated by it. Maybe it’s time to read it from the perspective of someone who is older, wiser, and has seen the actual ravages that a plague can inflict on the world. Maybe I can even set my mind to writing my own historical fiction book or story about Covid-19.

I sometimes wonder when I will feel safe enough to reintegrate with the life outside my home. The doctors in my family urge me not to be in a hurry to demonstrate my courage. They speak of their own worries for themselves and their children. They seem to believe that our dangers are far from being over. They are unwilling to suggest a time when it might be totally safe for me to emerge from my cocoon so I will just take things one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time without trying to gaze too far into the future and hopefully without letting my very vivid imagination get away from me.

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was horrific. Writer Katherine Porter lived through that terrifying experience and later wrote a semi-autobiographical piece about a young woman who survived the epidemic. During an interview not long before Ms. Porter died she revealed that of all the tragic events of the twentieth century it was the 1918 influenza outbreak that most affected her. In fact she spoke of never having been able to totally get over the horror of what she saw during that time.

We are living history even from inside our homes. The children of the future will want to know what we did and what we saw. There is something both exciting and terrifying at one and the same time. My only hope is that however each of us chooses to react to the situation we will do so with the intention of making it a bit easier for everyone else. For me that means staying put for a bit more time. 

A Time For Healing

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

It’s far too soon to speak of the Covid-19 pandemic being over. It’s doubtful that we will be able to flip a switch and go back to the normal, at least for a time. There will be a wariness in the air until there are no longer daily outbreaks of the disease and a trustworthy vaccine is available to everyone. Still, we are becoming more and more anxious for that day to come because at heart we enjoy being part of a community. It is in our natures to be productive as well, to have purpose in our lives.

We’ve spent time away from the ebb and flow of the world at large. Our streets have been quieter along with our daily routines. We have had time to think, to meditate, to consider what kind of changes we might want to see in the new normal that will emerge. In some ways we no longer wish to return to the status quo as it once was because in our days of isolation we have realized new possibilities. Our worldwide distancing has in an ironic twist made us somehow feel closer. The individual who dies in Italy is as important to us as the grandfather who does not make it in our hometown.

We have witnessed a simplification in our lives, reminding ourselves of what and who is actually essential. The skies are clearer all over the world and so are our priorities and obligations to share our lives with others. As we enjoy our own blessings we realize how many people it took to make them happen. We may be in a cocoon of safety right now but we survive so pleasantly only because an army of people have worked diligently to keep the supply chain of goods and services running.

We look to our medical community for answers and comfort in time of need and see the immense sacrifices that have always been part of their work. We struggle to keep our children learning and realize the creative and caring presence that teachers have have been even while we often criticized their efforts. That onion or that loaf of bread are suddenly precious commodities brought to us with the backbreaking labor of migrant workers, people that we have sometimes derided in the past. We look to the wonders of technology to keep us connected and pray for the genius of our scientists and engineers to bring us out of this crisis.

We must surely be humbled by this pandemic which has both upended our way of life and demonstrated the amazing human spirit. Heroes that we once thought to be ordinary have emerged with powers more wonderful than Superman. That nurse who dons her battle gear day after day to administer to the dying deserves a Medal of Honor. The drivers who bring food and supplies to vulnerable shut-ins are providing an immeasurable service. The neighbors who look after one another are the very foundation of who we are as people.

We have learned to enjoy simple things. We realize that we do not need as much as we may have thought. The sound of a neighbor playing the violin is lovely enough to make our day. The birds that congregate in our trees are as entertaining as an evening spent on the town. The meals prepared at home are tastier than those at a five star restaurant. Maybe we don’t really need that extra pair of shoes or a new pair of earrings. Instead we might see who around us is struggling and help them to weather this storm.

When we speak of making America great I suspect that we now realize that it will require an acknowledgement that we are indeed members of a global community. A tiny virus has shown us that we cannot escape the fact that when a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa we are all somehow affected. This pandemic was not the fault of any one nation but we are all reeling from it.

Our new big idea should be to look around and see who or what needs help. We must look for ways to use our resources and our privileges more wisely and more universally. We need to consider our young adults who will be inheriting a world greatly changed. We must share our wisdom and work together to overcome the forces of human weaknesses like greed. We also must accept the reality that we are in a symbiotic relationship with the environment and everything we do affects the health of the earth. We humans are not the only ones who are sick, so is nature. It’s time we labor in tandem with our lovely planet.

I hope that we do not soon forget the lessons we have learned in our urgency to open up business as usual. We must be mindful of each other and what is truly important. If we just go back to our closed mindedness and most current tendencies of endless disagreements we will have missed an opportunity to not just recover physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Now is the time for healing.

Who Are You Staying Home For?

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

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Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York created a campaign called “Who Are You Staying Home For?” It puts the rationale for our stay at home advisories into perspective because there are valid reasons for each of us to isolate not just for ourselves but for the good of someone else. It got me to thinking about my intentions for keeping to myself for almost five weeks now.

I have to admit that I do not wish to contract Covid-19. I tend to believe that if I were to do so I would survive just fine, but I don’t know that for sure. Exposing myself to the virus would be a kind of Russian roulette that our healthcare workers are forced to endure on a daily basis. They don’t need another case to deal with and so it would be incredibly selfish of me to flaunt the directives and potentially place myself in harms way. So I stay home for all of the dedicated individuals who are responding so valiantly to caring for those unfortunate souls who have somehow caught the virus. I hope that somehow I and others might lighten their load if we manage to stay well.

I’ve also been quite worried about my husband, Mike. He only recently had surgery to correct major blockage in the arteries of his heart. He is doing well but I believe that if he were to catch Covid-19 it would be quite dangerous. He’s seventy two years old with heart disease, a combination that does not bode well for anyone who comes down with the virus. I am vigilantly staying away from any situation that might be a source of the disease. I order all of my groceries and when they arrive I have a routine for disinfecting them that I use religiously. My hands are cracked and quite ugly from all of the washing to which I have subjected them. I am obsessively compulsive about taking all of the precautions quite soberly knowing that if I get flippant and catch Covid-19 there is a good chance that I will infect Mike.

I’m staying home for the people that I have never met who might accidentally catch the virus from me if I become infected and travel brazenly around my neighborhood and my city. I don’t want to be that person who spreads disease because I am unwilling to be careful. I don’t want to be someone who assumes that we are being duped into a draconian situation that is based on some grand hoax. If I flaunt the rules and I am wrong I will only be complicit in prolonging society’s suffering. I’m staying home so that we have a chance at getting back to normal sooner rather than later.

I’m staying home because I truly believe that God has given us the intellect to know what we must do not just to save ourselves but also as many of our fellow humans as possible. He has placed many brilliant doctors and scientists in our midst who believe that if we can flatten the curve of contagion there will be fewer lives lost. Why would I not listen to the experts? Why would I be so arrogant as to believe that without any knowledge of viruses and medicine I know more than those who have studied these things?

I’m staying home for my children and grandchildren so that they will have one less person to worry about because I know that they are indeed concerned about me. I want them to be confident that I am going to be fine because I am not taking any unnecessary risks. Staying inside my house is a very small sacrifice to provide them with a greater sense of well being.

I’m staying home because this virus really is novel. There is so much more that we must learn about it. I want the rise of emergencies to subside enough that those who study such things will have more time to discover the secrets of Covid-19. We have to know exactly how it works and what if anything is capable of stopping it both before and after it happens. I want to help clear the hospital decks so that this kind of work can commence without interruption.

I’m staying home because I know that it is the right thing to do. I understand that sometimes my liberties must be secondary to the good of all. I may have a right to be cavalier but if doing so endangers others then I am wrong to insist on bucking the system.

I’m staying home so that those who have lost their jobs may possibly get back to work sooner rather than later. I understand that we must all make sacrifices and be willing to help each other even when we are once again allowed to emerge into the outside world.. There will be much need for support and I want to be healthy and ready to do my part.

Who are you staying home for?

I’m Okay

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

21182490_web_queen-elizabeth-covidThis is my fifth week of isolation and I’ve been watching the news reports daily. I’ve been rather proud of my response to the situation that we are all facing, but this past weekend I let my emotions get the best of me. I had learned that a high school friend was going to have major heart surgery on Monday and I could not help identifying with her and her family. I had only a three weeks ago seen the kind of lockdown that was already happening in hospitals when I accompanied my husband for his own surgery and I knew that my friend would be facing her treatment without the comfort of having her loved ones beside her before and after the procedure. I literally felt the pain and fear that must have been theirs in both an emotional and physical way.

I also learned that a dear teacher friend had lost her beloved mother. I don’t know if the death was related to Covid-19 but I do know how much my colleague adored her mom. She would constantly post pictures of the two of them enjoying time together. It broke my heart to know that such a thing had happened in the midst of all of the chaos associated with the pandemic.

Later I heard that Mike’s aunt and uncle who now live in a senior residence were unable to see one another. She has been in the full nursing care section for many weeks now and he has had his own room. He has spent most of his days sitting with her, but now he is restricted to his area and she is alone in hers. The dining room where he ate breakfast, lunch and dinner is now closed. Meals are delivered to each room. Not only can the two of them not see each other but their children and grandchildren are also prohibited from visiting. I can’t even begin to imagine how lonely that must feel and it breaks my heart to think of them.

I prayed all weekend for a little cousin of mine who was hospitalized with a one hundred four degree fever of unknown origin. She eventually got better and the best guess for her illness was tonsillitis, but I nonetheless felt so helpless in being unable to do much for her and her family. I suppose that the inability to be of any real use in so many situations is bearing down on me and everyone else.

I watched the priests and deacons from my parish say mass on Palm Sunday and listened to the readings that spoke of the trial and death of Jesus. My mother used to sob every time she heard that terrible story. I always wondered why she cried when she heard it but this time I felt what she must have felt from deep inside my heart. The words resonated with me in a way that they never before have.

Then I listened to the lovely speech that Queen Elizabeth delivered to the people of the United Kingdom. It was so thoughtful and comforting. I found myself whispering “God Save the Queen.” I wondered why our president had not taken the time to convey such a sense of compassion and understanding to the American people. I thought of Ronald Reagan’s message to the people after the Challenger disaster and George W. Bush’s reassurances after 9/11. I think we need to hear words that are born of sensitivity to our concerns. It’s fine to get news about what is happening and what is being done but it would be great just to hear someone like the Queen talk to us as with a kind heart for our nation. 

Anyway after the build up of all of these things. I felt quite weepy and during a moment alone I let go of all of the emotions that were running through my head. I suddenly found myself sobbing uncontrollably. It was probably the best thing that I might have done. I realized that I was much more affected by everything that is happening than I had thought. It’s so difficult to watch the suffering increase exponentially and realize that we may not even be near the end of it. My attempts at being brave have just been masking my true feelings. Somehow they all came to the fore on Sunday.

I was able to begin this week with a new determination. The poison that was filling my mind got drained with my tears. I spent all day yesterday celebrating the goodness of people. I was able to send my father-in-law a cake, ice cream, candles, a steak and some asparagus for his ninety first birthday. He was so happy and excited. Hear the lilt in his voice filled my heart with contentment.

My little cousin is back home now and feeling much better. My friend spent most Monday day undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. I got to talk with my daughters and I planned my math lessons for today. Somehow I found purpose and a way to cope with all the uncertainty with the very small victories that defined my day. I think I will be fine, at least for now.

I’m sure that I am not the only one who is reacting to the sheer insanity of all that is happening. I hear of young children who are becoming increasingly confused and frightened by the upheaval in their normal routines. I know of adults who are tossing and turning at night rather than sleeping. I suppose that what we all need to do is admit to our fears and then find a way to channel that energy into projects that might help us or help others. Reaching out and revealing my own emotions led to a floodgate of responses from people that I love. They too had been feeling down and just knowing that they were not alone made a huge difference for each of us.

We are navigating uncharted waters. We don’t know from one day to the next how this will turn out. We have to keep looking for the good, and there is so much of it if only we seek it out. We also should be honest with ourselves and allow those moments of anger or confusion or worry to reveal themselves. It is only in dealing with them that we will be strong enough to proceed. I’m okay now and I hope you are too. If not, I’m here for any of my friends who need someone to lean on. We can be together even from far away.

Hunkering Down

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

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This is the beginning of week five of my self isolation. I have to admit that I am a very lucky person with regard to staying at home. I’m with a man whose been my best friend for fifty one years and we know how to get along quite well with one another. I have a home  that is comfortable and safe. I’ve been able to find things to do to stay occupied. All in all I can’t complain, but I have to say that the continually changing and often conflicting information that I receive from one day to the next is beginning to make me a bit crazy as I suspect that it is doing for everyone else as well.

We’ve gone from “this will only take a couple of weeks and everyone will be fine” to “there may be 100,000 to 250,000 deaths in the United States.” We were initially told that masks were of no use for anyone other than those who are infected and now the recommendation seems to be that we wear some sort of covering over our noses and mouths whenever we go out.

The list of evolving recommendations has gone into a frenetic cycle of ups and downs that’s as difficult to keep track of as what day it is. We’re told on a Tuesday that we might all be back in church on Easter day, but by Friday we have at least another month to stay at home. People with contact lenses have been warned that they may want to use glasses for the time being or risk being infected as they place the lenses on their eyes. The six foot social distancing rule may or may not be enough to prevent contagion. The virus may spread from talking or it may linger in the air around us. Our dogs and cats may be carrying the disease. The governor from my state of Texas wants us all to stay home but he’s reluctant to make it a firm ruling even to the point of saying that churches can be open as long as people don’t gather too closely together.

In our quest to fully understand Covid-19 there is a a great deal of theorizing and sharing of information. Sometimes there is also a bit too much thinking out loud. It reminds me of one of those brainstorming sessions that we used to have at faculty meetings that ended up with a hodgepodge of unproven ideas being implemented in our classrooms. In other words we are in the midst of a global experiment, a giant science project that is still a long way from being able to draw definite conclusions.

I have little doubt that we will one day fully understand Covid-19 through the cooperative efforts of the world’s scientific community. In the meantime we have to accept the fact that in many ways we are still groping in the dark. The information is changing almost as fast as the numbers of infected souls. Our best bet is not to panic or allow our anxieties to overtake us but to consider the old folk wisdom that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In other words why tempt fate by risking our lives and those of others by flaunting our independence and right to choose how to live? We do not yet know what such libertarian ideas may beget so why would anyone be arrogant enough to suggest such a test?

I’m as confused by all of this as anyone must certainly be. In many ways it reminds me of an impending hurricane, something that threatens my neck of the woods each season from June to October. Most years my city is just fine but now and again one of those storms in the gulf heads our way and  we have to be prepared. We buy our water and food provisions and set aside batteries for our lanterns and flashlights in case the electricity goes out. We gas up our cars in the event that we have to make a quick escape. We make sure our wind and flood insurance is up to date. We board or tape our windows and maybe even purchase a gas powered generator. Then we hunker down and hope for the best.

Sometimes that old hurricane or tropical storm takes a turn and avoids us completely and we celebrate our good fortune. Other times it roars right at us leaving massive destruction and misery and we join together as a community to help those most affected rebuild their lives. Experience has taught us how to hunker down and ride out whatever eventually happens.

We have the same kind of cone of uncertainty with Covid-19, only this event is aimed at the entire world. For better or worse it would be irresponsible to simply ignore it. When our city, state and national leaders ask us to behave in particular ways for the good of our communities they are not overreaching to take away our freedoms. They are doing their best to insure our security. We have to remember that if any of us become ill because we failed to heed the warnings it will be first responders, medical personnel and the American taxpayers who will pay the cost of our defiance. No action in such a time is without consequences for many others. We don’t run a red light just because it should be our right to do so. Life is filled with restrictions set in place for the common good.

Who knows where this is going to end up? I sure don’t. All I can do is be patient. I know that I can seek the comfort of God without gathering in a big building. My freedoms are not dependent on making my own rules. I may be hunkered down with only my husband near enough to touch but I’m still part of a community. I plan to wait this out and not worry about whose theories have been right and whose have been wrong. We will have plenty of time to decide on that when all is once again clear. Take care.