“Latest news!”
This was the first thing I saw on a text message from my dad as I was driving as part of a side job I have delivering food on Friday night. While a text from my dad isn’t an unusual thing, his communications tend to be memes or just a response to something we are talking about in a group text. So, to receive a message with that opening is unique, to say the least.
“Sue went on that trip with Carolyn and she called today and said her family has COVID.”
I reached a point - maybe a stoplight or maybe a pickup or dropoff, I don’t recall for sure - where I was able to see more of the message. I knew a few things about Carolyn and “that trip,” which was a one-day mystery trip locally in which my stepmom was going with her friend, Carolyn, on a brief getaway that seemed to just be somewhere in the OKC metro area. The trip was just a couple of days before (maybe Tuesday or Wednesday) so I hadn’t even talked to my stepmom about where she went and what she saw.
“We can’t get to our doctor until Monday.”
As I mentioned before, this was a Friday evening. I later texted my dad about going to a pharmacy and getting a COVID test, and he let me know they were only testing during the week. Personally, I don’t see the logic in that at all. The time when people need testing to be available the most is on the weekend - otherwise, they could go to the doctor’s office and get checked out if they felt symptoms. I immediately felt as if even the professionals making the decisions were doing so in a way that wasn’t consistent with the needs of those who might get infected. The virus doesn’t hold off on doing its damage until Monday morning. Friday night is as good as anytime. With nothing but clinics and hospitals being open for testing on the weekends, that's not good. Especially with what we have been hearing from the hospitals about being full of unvaccinated people who learned too late that they made really bad choices in life.
“I will update you when I hear something.”
It’s hard to sit back in angst and learn about what may or may not happen next. But the alternative is to join them when it is looking like they could be hosting a deadly virus. And my presence literally would do nothing to eradicate the virus or its effects. As Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” You have no idea, Tom.
“Sue says she feels weak but not sick yet. I was having more trouble than usual breathing today.”
Of all the words I saw in this message, these were the ones that hit home the hardest. My stepmom is a wonderful person who wants to be there for everyone. She loves people and treats everyone as if they were the best person in the world. As this is her personality, she rarely says no to anyone asking for her to help with something or to join them in an activity. And her reward for being this person was to be possibly infected by a person whose selfish actions may be putting everyone around her in jeopardy.
As for my dad, he wasn’t a prime example of good health prior to the pandemic so he felt comfortable just sitting down in his recliner and waiting it out once it hit. Eighteen months later, he leaves the house only to eat sometimes, to go to doctor visits and to physically attend church a couple of times. Other than that, he has really worked hard - or maybe I should say little - to just stay put and quarantine himself against the virus.
“I pray we are OK.”
Praying is all we can do at this point. What we know factually about this virus is that everything has to be done proactively because the options on the reactive end are minimal at best. The three of us are vaccinated and have been patiently attempting to do our best to ward off any potential infections. I frequently find myself wearing a mask while being surrounded by people who aren’t (and often even around people I know to be vaccinated, based on what we have been learning over the last few weeks). At a family gathering a week ago, I was the lone person wearing a mask. The family members not wearing a mask included my stepmom. My dad didn’t go but his exposure via contact with my stepmom can’t be ignored. That is the part of virus spread we all knew well before COVID-19 ever became a part of our lives, and the events of the past 18 months have only enhanced that knowledge. COVID-19 is real, it is lethal and more than half of our nation is doing practically nothing to fight against it.
While we can pretty much do nothing for now but just hope it all works out, this is just another reminder that more than half of America (aMErica, as it is often referred to nowadays throughout the world) is still unvaccinated (48 percent is the last number I saw as vaccinated) with many of those clamoring that their perception of freedom is more important than everyone’s right to live. They are wrong. The virus is real, the vaccine isn’t a microchip or unsafe, and people are getting extremely sick and/or dying. This is no joke, people, and you need to stop screwing around or waiting on some magical moment when you finally decide to pull your head out of your ass. Get vaccinated. Wear a mask when you are around groups of people. Stay socially distanced when it is possible. And if you still don’t understand or want to argue about the realities of this virus, then move to somewhere that has other like-minded people and build a new civilization there. We are so tired of your nonsense that is absolutely killing people, and it needs to come to an end. And this time, it is absolutely personal.
