please wear your mask... future fridays

Reposted from an acquaintance as a not so gentle reminder that we are all in this together.

Still.

Months later.

And likely for years to come. 

What I'm about to say is going to be raw. I've been thinking about it a lot in the past couple of days, and I decided to come forward and say how I feel.

I've always been relatively healthy. I'm "low risk". Sure, I've had thyroid surgery, I have a swallowing disorder that is treated, and I'm a little anemic, but over all, I've been pretty healthy. No diabetes, no heart issues, no cancer.

I have COVID-19.

I've been wearing a mask in public for months, I've taken the precautions at work, I've worn PPE, I've avoided social gatherings and crowded areas, my child hasn't had play dates, I've done my best to stay 6 feet away, even at Walmart. I've also been running more and feeling more fit in the past few months than I have in the past couple of years.

I knew I was exposed and I tried to distance myself from my family even though we were in the same house. My throat got a little sore, but I had been cleaning some dusty areas around the house, so I thought maybe it was a reaction to that. My upper to middle back started hurting a little, but I thought maybe it was from cleaning and sweeping the front porch. I started coughing a little and decided to get tested. I was diagnosed as symptoms continued to get worse. Now I feel like I have the flu and a small animal is resting on my chest. So, I am not one of those "lucky" non-symptomatic people, but I don't think a ventilator is in my near future, either. I'm a middle-of-the-road COVID-19 patient.

To the mask-doubters out there: I still believe wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of this illness. If more people actually did that, and did it CORRECTLY, maybe there would be fewer of us fighting this fight. Condoms are not 100% effective, and neither are masks. I've read a lot of comments online from people who don't believe it will help. I'm choosing to believe the scientists who put hours into studying these things rather than the people who can't put a proper sentence together and base their beliefs on internet "news". Believe what you want, but at least have some empathy for people like me who are losing loved ones as they sit at home taking puffs from an inhaler.

That brings me to the political hoax believers: When you say that this will be over in November, I hear, "You're not really sick and your loved ones were going to die anyway." If that's how you really feel, maybe we were never friends anyway. If that's not how you feel, please examine how the things you say hurt other people, and please, for the love of God, find better news sources. I promise you, this is real. It's hurting people. People on your "friends list".

For the people who fear for our economy, our children, our mental health: I hear you. I have the same fears. I know people are hurting financially. I know people have died due to mental health issues. I WORK in mental health and I know there have been serious struggles during this pandemic. I also have a child who misses her friends and activities. We can't ignore those things. I don't have the answers. I am not against you. We need to stop the divisive comments and work together to figure out how to heal our nation - medically, economically, and spiritually.

I'm going to be OK. It's not a beach vacation, but time will pass and I'll feel better. If we show love, empathy, and compassion for each other, whether we agree or disagree, maybe with time, we can be better together.

I still believe in rainbows.


via {an fb acquaintance}