Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2009. Just by the activity, I can tell that it was a Friday. How do I know? Because the chemistry club came to visit every Friday and this photo shows that they came into Mattie's room to conduct one of their fun experiments. Chris was the president of the club and he was GREAT with Mattie. Mattie LOVED when the university students came into the unit and truly looked forward to participating in the experiments. Since Mattie was isolated to his room, what you can't see were all the people in the room with us trying to keep Mattie busy, entertained, and engaged. Just an incredible support team.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins:
- 53,660 diagnosed with the virus
- 703 people who died from the virus
As we are all in the second week of the Coronavirus shutdown, I can't say isolation is getting any easier for us. Everything about social distancing and staying home, seems completely foreign to American citizens. It is not a way of life we are accustomed to. Which maybe why this reminds me of how Peter and I felt when Mattie was diagnosed. The intense change to one's way of life, the isolation, fear, and anxiety are all too reminiscent.
I think I had reached a place today which seemed more stable, since I have been focused on the types of treatments available to combat this virus. Then I heard the story of Jack Allard. It is hard to believe that a perfectly healthy 25 year old, with no underlying health conditions, could be in critical condition from the virus. So much so that a coma was induced and he is being transported to a hospital in Pennsylvania that is more equipped to manage his care. It sounds like a parent's worse nightmare. From mismanaged testing for the virus to parents being separated from their child because of the contagion at hand. I can't imagine how these parents feel being isolated from their child. My thoughts go out to them, as I know they are forced to make life or death decisions for their son.
Nothing about this makes sense to me. My two nephews went to Bates College, the same school Jack graduated from. Jack's story makes me pause because he is living proof that any one of us could contract this virus and like I know all too well already.............. life doesn't always go as scripted. So much about our health and future are out of our hands.
Jack Allard ‘16 In Critical Condition During Battle With COVID-19:
https://thebatesstudent.com/2020/03/23/jack-allard-16-is-in-critical-condition-due-to-covid-19/
I can safely say I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. It makes a DC snowstorm seem like pocket change, as our area tends to have empty shelves with the threat of snow. But this takes things to a whole new level. We spoke with many of the people working in the store and they told us that as soon as they stock the shelves they get wiped out within hours. In fact, there were signs at the store's entrance as well as in the meat section telling customers that they were only allowed to buy two packages of chicken with each shopping visit. As people have been hoarding chicken. Not sure why beef, pork, and other meats aren't as sought after, but this was the state of affairs today.
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