Is 2020 over yet?

The last 4+ months have been crazy. The last time I got together will all of my friends was at my birthday party in March. Right after that things started shutting down. Megan and Mason never went back to school. Vacations got put on hold.

And life at home took on a whole new meaning. Through all of this MS remains a contemptuous foe. I wish I could say stem cell therapy was successful but unfortunately, I was not one of the lucky ones. But I have really enjoyed having the kids around and will miss them when they head back to school in a couple weeks. They have been a blessing and a good distraction from the reality of my world. I still drive with some assistance on occasion to pick up things but slowly I am losing my independence as I need assistance getting my scooter. Staying at home gets lonely at times but really it has been a lot easier for me than most.

2020 has been an adventure. We continue to see the ups and downs of Covid-19 in addition to our nationwide division in politics, and an ongoing civil rights movement. It Is clear that life as we knew it is not returning anytime soon. Recent events in my household finally gave me the motivation to blog again and I hope you read this knowing this is not meant as a political statement or as criticism to anyone. This is simply MY perspective based on my experience and my knowledge. You may not agree or care but as always, I enjoy sharing my insight with others hoping you may get something useful out of it.

Most of you know Rich tested positive for Covid-19 and fell ill although he has since recovered. He experienced mild fever for 12 days starting on July 6. He also experienced extreme fatigue and some other symptoms at different times like a mild cough and trouble taking a deep breath. The rest of our family tested negative and did not experience any symptoms. Not quite sure why we all tested negative but we are grateful.

His symptoms sound pretty minor but watching him go through 2 weeks of misery was not fun. Every person has a different experience. Many have little or no symptoms and some progressively get worse. The fear after a week of no improvement was that we were moving towards the latter. Thankfully that did not happen.

Since March we have been inundated with news about the pandemic. News sources have dramatic headlines. That’s how they get followers. And often it makes it hard to decipher the reality of the situation. I don’t think anyone can deny that the information has been changing rapidly. Partially because there was and still is a lot of unknowns about this virus.

Recommendations have changed. Trajectories have changed. Predictions have changed. Many leaders and many experts disagree on what to do.

But the virus is real. It’s spreading everywhere and it’s not a joke. My view is that it is our responsibility as citizens and as decent human beings to try and help the situation and not make it worse. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything, but at this point arguing about the basics is not making this disappear any faster.

Experts do not suggest just letting the virus runs its’ course, which leads to what’s called herd immunity for a variety of reasons. But there are many people who think that is exactly what we should do.

One of the biggest concerns with letting the virus run its’ course is not just the death rate but hospitalizations. Case numbers are going to continue to increase the more testing increases and nobody knows if those are accurate anyway. But imagine for a minute if your child breaks his leg right now and the ERs are full of Covid patients? A friend of mine, who is a local hospital nurse, has said personnel within hospitals is getting shuffled around and you may not get the quality of care you normally would if you come into the hospital right now.

One of my biggest concerns is that there are still many unanswered questions about Covid-19. Evidence is starting to show contracting the virus may not offer long term immunity. In other words, potentially you could contract the virus more than once, even with a vaccine. Doctors on the front line have already seen patients who develop symptoms again after testing negative, sometimes with more severity. Long term effects are possible as well but it is too early to know the scope and severity of them. The lungs, heart, kidneys, GI tract, and brain could potentially be affected.

Are we overreacting? Many people think so. In early May it almost seemed so and we all kind of let our guard down. Then BAM, the trajectory changed and here we are. If you didn’t know anyone before who had the virus, chances are you do now.

The argument can be made that if we don’t get the spread of the Covid-19 under control, normalcy will not return anytime soon. Kids need to go back to school. Businesses need to remain open. And no, I don’t want to wear a mask forever.

But right now, there is a virus we don’t know enough about. Right now, there is no good plan as to how school is going to work this fall. Right now, life is not back to normal and chances are the longer we resist the longer it will take.

There are many people who feel like shutdowns and mandates violate our freedoms. Whether that is true or not is left to your opinion. I do know that government, even in a democracy, does have a role in maintaining public health. That is why we have laws about wearing seat belts, smoking on a plane, or putting your kid in a car seat. Even though they told us otherwise in the beginning, the experts now all seem to agree wearing a mask is very important to slowing the spread. Not every state has a mask mandate and lord knows not everyone agrees with the one in Texas but it is apparent the mandate is helping people and businesses to cooperate. From the limited trips out I make, the number of people wearing masks has gone from 40-50% to 90+%.

I don’t know about you but I hope by 2021 we can relax and talk about something other than the pandemic. Actually, I hope by December the virus will be under control so Megan gets to walk across the stage for her diploma at A&M and maybe I can get together again with all of my friends before my next birthday LOL.

But most of all I hope you and your families are well and surviving the craziness of 2020. May you find something to be grateful for amongst the chaos.