Never having
experienced a global pandemic before, I’ve gotta admit this whole Coronavirus…situation…has
me feeling a bit…on edge. I mean, when it first hit the news, from a
country located on the other side of the planet, I remember thinking
something along the lines of, “Oof, that sounds bad. How awful for them. I hope
they get it under control before too many people get sick.” And then, as we
discovered, they…didn’t. Rather, the illness began to spread, with increasing
numbers of people not only being infected, but some of them actually dying,
and…the previously mild, vague entity lurking in the background of our collective
consciousness suddenly leaped into the spotlight and demanded attention as a real,
and somewhat terrifying, threat.
Of course,
I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t mention right upfront how lucky
(and infinitely grateful) I am to live in a developed nation, with 21st
century hygiene-- and a partner whose job provides access to health care.
(Regardless of how the current…idiotic…administration is catastrophically botching
this whole issue. But that’s a can of worms I’m leaving firmly closed for the purposes
of this post. *Restrains self from commencing rant.* You’re welcome…)
Even better,
a recent social media post served as a palpable reminder of how incredibly
fortunate I am to reside in my specific little corner of the world. It
was just a brief notice on Twitter, announcing that UNC researchers had created
a test for the disease, and as soon as it cleared FDA approval, they’d be able
to use it to screen folks who might have been exposed and/or are displaying
symptoms. Wow. Plus, that other university a couple of miles away
(mutter mutter rhymes with Puke—ha!) is evidently working on one as well. Science,
y’all: it’s the BEST!
In Casa
WestEnders, I’d characterize our approach as…cautious…informed…and
(in my case, at least) trying to avoid unnecessary panic. Sure, we always
wash our hands, but maybe we’re ramping up the frequency a bit? And
using more sanitizer? Basically, whatever preventive steps lie within
our reach. Now, Husband spends his days right here in the home office,
so he obviously isn’t out there “amongst the teeming germ-laden masses”, if you
will. But his company did the prudent thing and canceled all international
travel for the time being--smart and careful being the recommended order
of the day--so kudos to them for being proactive and protecting their
employees’ well-being.
Even the
local school system has not only addressed the evolving story but, according to
a disgruntled Riley, is preparing plans for how to continue educating students
in the event that everyone has to stay home and learn remotely.
(Yeah, he’s soooo NOT thrilled by this prospect. Frankly, I can’t blame him,
because neither am I! So please join me in taking a moment to send a
quick thought out into the universe that this doesn’t come to pass.
Thanks…carry on…) In the meantime, he wryly noted, “Well, I guess I’ll stop
doing my daily fistbump with B. at the beginning of Math.” (I told him a
friendly shoulder-check could take its place, but he gave me the
side-eye and proclaimed that was “weird”. Eh, I tried…)
And really,
as things stand right now, that’s the biggest fear for me, personally: the
notion that I’d have to hole up in my house for several weeks, either quarantined
because I’d caught it, or isolated due to an outbreak in our
area. Once again, knocking on wood (throwing salt over my shoulder, ALL the
good luck things) that I happen to be employed not only by a renowned academic
institution, but also in the Family Medicine Department. This translates to: surrounded
by intelligent, capable medical professionals all the time…who share their
insights on the topic, which tend to be fact-filled and include sensible
advice.
Honestly,
this is all I needed hear: one of my colleagues asked a faculty member/MD,
“Look, am I gonna die?” To which the physician laughingly responded,
“Um…NO!” And there you have it—the DOCTORS say we’re going to be fine (those of
us who happen to enjoy generally robust health to begin with, at least),
so that’s what I’m choosing to believe (whilst continuing to diligently follow all
the precautions, it goes without saying, right? Side note: because of all
this nonsense, I also went through a period where I felt it necessary to
announce, every time I sneezed, “Pollen! It’s just allergies; I’m
not contagious, I swear!” Mercifully, I think we’re past that now…and
they’re not going to send me home.)
Meanwhile
I’ve noticed—and keep in mind this is a very small-scale, anecdotal observation
from one human’s point of view--that we who do have to venture out into
the…Earthly Petri Dish…can be described as reacting on a scale of…let’s
call it Studiously Noncommittal…all the way up to Doomsday Freakout.
Hence the sudden, irritating shortages occurring in stores these days,
where one might find it ridiculously difficult to lay hands on such modern everyday
conveniences as, say, toilet paper…or the aforementioned hand sanitizer.
Siiighhhh…
However, on
the other side of the spectrum, this week UNC went ahead with its annual
Huntley Lecture, which is a talk given by an invited speaker, attended by many
people from the School of Medicine as well as other distinguished guests. It
was held at an off-campus venue, and I went along as one of the advance guard,
to set up and greet visitors. One of the first things our small committee
noticed was the distinct absence of Purell, which in our opinion
should have been stationed approximately every 5 feet, prominently displayed,
to encourage generous application. Well, within oh, about an hour, guess what magically
appeared all around us, as if summoned by…I don’t know…Antibacterial
Elves, or something? That’s right, enough alcohol-based cleanser for the
entire local population to BATHE in, should they so desire. Bugs, begone!
Furthermore,
we witnessed an astonishing phenomenon from our vantage point at the
registration table, in the middle of all the hoopla: the housekeeping staff
unobtrusively made rounds of the building, disinfecting surfaces like the
bathroom door handles, on a continuous loop. Trust me when I tell you that they
never seemed to stop; once they finished a circle, they started
the process over again, wiping things down thoroughly. It was…reassuring,
to say the least.
And finally,
to add a much-needed touch of lightness to a very somber topic, there was the
behavior of the very dignified conference-goers themselves. For example, I saw
more than one suited gentleman offer a cheeky grin…and an extended ELBOW to a
peer, for what amounted to a rather whimsical, but also much safer and wiser,
token of greeting than a handshake would have been in these uncertain
circumstances. I actually found it kind of adorable to behold. Gotta love docs
that don’t take themselves too seriously, yeah?
There you
have it…here’s to keeping calm, avoiding hysteria, and lathering
our digits in soap and sanitizer. And, all joking aside: fingers crossed that we all come
through on the other side of the Great Coronavirus Scare of 2020!
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