Remaining calm in the chaos

I don’t consider myself an anxious person. I stay pretty calm most of the time although I have my moments. Right now it would be easy to get anxious and panicky because we have news streaming 24/7 about COVID-19. Sometimes I do underreact to situations like when everyone was hoarding toilet paper. I thought who doesn’t have enough toilet paper for a couple weeks? What’s the urgency? Well it’s been a couple weeks now I am getting concerned because stores are still out!

It is insane how much information and misinformation is coming out daily. Think about how much our world has changed in the last 30 days.

• March 5th I was on a plane back from Panama and there was some concern but mostly about China.

• March 14 I had about 30 people at my house to celebrate my birthday.

• March 16 the order from our county came out to keep social gatherings under 50 people.

• March 27 a stay at home order was issued.

I am not an expert by any means but I do think I have a calm, rational point of view. Am I worried? Maybe a little. At least I am on alert and understand this a serious situation that none of us has ever experienced. I’m just trying to stay home as much as possible because when I am home, I feel safe.

We live in a world of constant information. There are so many different perspectives on the same issue. Who do you believe? One doctor says this is the worst disease ever and another says we’re overreacting. The CDC says don’t wear a mask and now they say do. People are all over TV perpetuating their own conspiracy theories.

Are we overreacting? Are the statistics, right? Is China lying? Did the US react too late? Is the media reporting “fake news”? Are enough people being tested? Should we all be hoarding hydroxychloroquine? Is it ok to take ibuprofen if you are infected? Where can I get toilet paper? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It’s too much!

Here ‘s what I think.

• None of that really matters to me right now (other than the toilet paper).

• I believe this is serious and the death rate is serious.

• The statistics will never be fully accurate because we are not testing enough people or reporting data consistently from place to place.

• The best thing I can do is to protect myself and my family is to stay home as much as possible and hope we are overreacting.

• Experts are learning more every day and hopefully will know enough soon to calms things down.

Let’s face it NONE of us has seen anything like this pandemic in our lifetime. This is new territory. We can’t expect anyone to know everything right now so I will listen to people I trust. Inflaming the issue with political rhetoric or “deep state” theories is not helping anyone and sharing this on social media makes it worse. Most experts are in agreement and the data seems consistent that social distancing works. When the virus is no longer a threat and we can feel safe, then we should analyze what happened and be better prepared. Until then we should only be spreading facts and positive information.

Personally, I think until this affects someone close to you it is hard to realize the impact. The economic fallout is yet to be determined fully. I’m sure I would be more anxious if I were worried about my financial situation. What we do realize during a crisis situation, is the undeniable good that still exists in the world. We see the generosity from so many and the desire to step in and help out where needed. We see the selfless acts of kindness making sure those in need are taken care of. And we revere the ones who are on the front lines taking the risks for us all.

As for me I guess it has at least been a distraction from my daily battles. I wish I could report things are looking better after my last trip to Panama but I have not had any real noticeable improvement. I remain hopeful that I will turn a corner someday. I know I am grateful because there are so many issues with MS that do not affect me. My upper body is not affected and I have no cognitive issues really. In fact, I think any slight issues with thinking or memory have been better lately. I gave up tracking every symptom detail a while back because it gets frustrating. Those that follow my journey know I went into stem cell treatment with no expectations just hope. In this trying time, it is not lost on me how fortunate we are to be financially secure, to have good insurance, and to have a comfortable place to isolate with the family.