COVID Hit Close to Heart and a Warning

Although I am an author and an artist my full time job is as a secretary in a medical office with multiple providers and a fairly large staff. COVID ran through our office which caused a rapidly changing series of events that saw me first moved into a more quarantined area, then sent home to work from home for nearly two weeks before finally being allowed back into the office last week as one of only four office staff/front desk girls allowed in the entire first floor of the building at this time.

One woman, a few years younger than me, had the most serious case of all our office members, providers, and staff. She was hospitalized nearly a month ago and had to be sustained on life support. Updates on her condition were few and far between because of the chaotic manner in which we were working to keep the office running and the patients' needs met with only a handful of employees able to work from home and providers doing televisits from their homes or, if allowed back into the office after being cleared, their offices in the building with limited access to other areas. All any of us could do was pray for her recovery and keep our fingers crossed that she would have the strength and determination to pull through. It was deeply disheartening and saddening to read the daily obituaries and recognize many patient names on those pages. We truly do care about our patients and have known many of them for decades. It was both stunning and sobering to comprehend just how pervasive and widespread this virus is, how invasive and insidious it is, and how rapidly it spreads...and how devastating the outcome can be, especially for the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions as noted by health experts.

Yesterday, the four of us currently working in the office watched the video of our co-worker on our cell phones as she was released from the hospital, in a wheelchair, on oxygen still and behind a mask. But she waved. The hospital wanted to send her to rehab after being in a hospital bed for nearly a month but she defied them, got out of that bed and walked from it to the bathroom with the help of a walker because she wanted to go home that bad and COVID was not going to stop her. In the brief image of her as she approached the family member recording her departure from the hospital one can see the fatigue and the toll this virus has taken on her, and we could understand the long road still ahead of her as she recovers her strength and former vitality.  All four of us cried. All four of us wanted to hug and reassure one another that one day in the future we'll have normalcy back in our lives, but even though the four of us are healthy, feel well, and display no symptoms, we go back out into the world, to our homes and families, out in the community to buy essentials, use the ATM, pick up food at the drive thru, etc...and could be picking up the virus and carrying it around. So while we are allowed to work together, we have to stay as far apart from one another as we can get, wear masks, and gloves, if touching common surfaces the others touch, such as the fax machine, doorknobs, etc.

We're thrilled and relieved that our coworker has survived and has been allowed to go home to start her rehab after such a life-threatening experience with COVID, but we also know it's going to be a long time yet before all of us can work together again and the office will be back to a more normal flow.

Through this whole COVID crisis I've seen two coworkers land in the hospital, the previous one only hospitalized for about a week, and others who were sick for one to two weeks with milder symptoms, and am aware of several still testing positive and some testing negative. Your fellow employees are like your extended family. After so many years of working together you know a lot about one another, and you care about everyone to varying degrees. You don't wish ill upon any of them- yet you are suddenly seeing your workplace deeply rocked by a pandemic that there are people out there denouncing as a hoax, not as serious as the experts are making it out to be, and saying things need to get back to normal quickly. A workplace is a microcosm of the real world. We were hit hard. We very nearly lost someone, could have lost another, and had multiple others sick with varying degrees of illness, some of whom are still recovering at home. The number of us in the office is close to the number in a standard classroom. If we all walked back into that classroom right now, there would be some of us exposed to this virus who would get sick, take it home and perhaps make our family members sick. If we have elderly family members, or family members with health conditions in the home or that we are going to visit and take supplies and food to then we could potentially sicken them, or even be responsible for killing them if we knowingly go to a place where the virus has run rampant. Even with taking precautions you cannot see the virus, so you cannot be sure whether or not you're carrying it home on your skin, your clothing, your jacket, or lunch bag. It should be a cause of concern and not dismissed as "it can't happen to me, I wash my hands and wear a mask...etc." A virus is microscopic. It lives for hours on surfaces. You can potentially bring it home from wherever you go.

I nearly lost not only a fellow co-worker, but someone I care about and consider a friend after 13 years of working together. We've celebrated many occasions in her family, watched her children grow, I've been to her home, celebrated when her granddaughter was born. As I mentioned before, you spend a lot of time on a daily basis with your co-workers, more time with them on an average weekday then you spend with your own family. This could have ended tragically. I'm happier than I can actually express that it had a good outcome for her and her family.

Please be careful and think about what you are at risk for losing if you are too hasty in your pursuit to return to a more normal life. You could be placing a beloved family member, a friend, that friend's family, an acquaintance, that acquaintance's family, and your co-workers at risk. Just stay safe, stay smart, and don't be swayed by ignorance and impatience. Listen to your own common sense, make your choices carefully and considerately. If able, help those who need assistance during this time. If you need help, reach out and ask and don't be embarrassed about it. There are good people in the world; there is help out there.

And thank you to those who are selflessly helping. You are doing something positive to get as many of us as possible through this COVID pandemic. I'll admit right here, I am not particularly religious. I do believe in a higher being we call God. I do believe He does hear your prayers even if you sit quarantined in your home, socially distancing in the office, or while in your car at a red light. He hears what's in your heart. So, simply pray in place, not just for yourself and your family, but for all of us.

He answered our prayers for our co-worker and gave us all a sign of hope which we needed after being hit so hard. If you haven't experienced a close to the heart hit from this virus, then bless you and yours, you're lucky. Our office is just a tiny representation of the entire medical field out there battling COVID on a 24-7 basis. I truly admire those on the frontlines in hospitals and cannot begin to fathom the strength, bravery, and determination powering those health care workers through this crisis. It's too grand a scale to imagine. I'm just thankful that they're there fighting to save lives and sitting with the ones losing their battles who would otherwise be alone.

I wish more people would think before they speak. If you're healthy and your family is healthy it's because so many others are working and struggling to follow the rules and guidelines to keep as many of us as possible safe and healthy. If you're in a big hurry to get back to the way things used to be then be aware that more lives will be lost. Take a long look around you and you may see the face of the next virus victim sitting at your table, lounging on the couch, shooting baskets out in the driveway, asleep in their crib, or coming in from a walk to get some fresh air. Those are the lives you're impatience and lack of understanding is placing at risk, not to mention just your own.