Front Lines

April 21, 2020

Part of the new normal is cleaning out the garage.  I’ve got unopened boxes I unloaded from the trailer two years ago and haven’t touched since. I have sacks of recycling that have been piling up since the recycling center closed a month ago.  I also had cans of dog food and a variety of dried food we had tried to entice Bella to eat.  Even though the recycling could wait, I didn’t want to waste food.  Melissa called the vet to see if we could donate the opened food.  Even though they could not use it or enter it for resale, they knew of a nearby shelter that always needed food.  I pulled up to the side door and called to let them know I was outside.  As I waited several cars pulled up and called to have their pets examined.   The aides came out wearing masks to either take or return these loving animals.

Waiting got me again thinking about those who are on the front line of the pandemic.   We have three nieces and nephews who are nurses attending to patients in hospitals and another who serves his community as a veterinarian.   The come and go I saw is common for all health care workers.  Sometimes those they see wear masks.  Sometimes they don’t.   What the science tells us is even if you do wear a mask, the virus can live on other clothes and surfaces and it can survive longer and travel farther than first expected.   That means these workers are literally on the Front Lines.

It appears the number of new corona virus cases is declining across America.  What isn’t clear is whether this is a result of social distancing or due to the low percentage of people who are getting tested.   What I am hearing from Dr. Fauci is it’s probably a combination of both.  We have seen other countries who decided to reopen at the first signs of a decrease.  The result has been a spike of increased cases.  Nobody wants to stay home.  Everyone wants to see the economy booming again.  Then I think about my nieces and nephews.

THOUGHTS:  The health care workers around the world have voluntarily put themselves in precarious situations.  This was true before the pandemic but is now even more so.  Many hospitals are struggling to get protective gear and ventilators to stay ahead of the demand.   Others are scrambling to test and produce new vaccines or find new uses for existing ones.  Even knowing the statistics for the Flu, we are finding this new threat harder to gauge or even know how to treat.  What we do know is the best way to move forward is with everyone working together.  If it is possible, Stay home. Stay safe.