Hello from Day Six. Your Pandemic Day might vary, but this local link collector has been living in a fish bowl since Thursday. One one hand, sure:
We’ve barely left the house. Early morning dog walks and side-street runs have felt like playing Frogger on easy. You can avoid the city at a six foot bubble. And of all the worrying things out of my control (the elderly, the immunocompromised, ventilator counts, #FlatteningTheCurve), what I’ve been working on is small potatoes:
Keeping physically distant with a warm spirit.
I’ve had trouble with this every day:
Sunday morning was a ghost town and I had the dog eight blocks from our apartment. There’s a guy in a wrinkled green shirt who clearly St. Patrick’s-ed himself into AM unfamiliar territory and I can see him trying every wrong street (his phone must be dead?) trying to figure out where he is. He begins trailing me - a human who can help - and my first (and enduring) thought is buddy no way. I speed up. He’s not wearing a jacket. I could easily shout where the train is. I don’t. He finally gives up and stumbles a different direction.
Ten minutes later and I’m back in my building ready to murder the neighbors when they stop to hold our elevator for another couple. Am I losing it? Yes! And I don’t want to be like this!
So two goals for the week:
(1) Not Bringing COVID-19 Back Into The Apartment >>>>>
(2) Reminding myself:
I can do that, and I think it’ll help.
Here are a few things to take with you:
😷 A City of Bodies
The last two weeks in the exact spirit they occurred. If you want beautiful writing, this is it. A moment to pause and remember the gradual build to our current moment.
🏠 Please Just Stay Home!
I could not tell you why I’ve thought about this anecdote daily but lol it’s the advice equivalent of an ear worm.
I’d like to tell you a story. I hope it will help those who are selfish enough to want to leave their apartments because they are bored, not to be rude. One time I wanted a chocolate chip cookie. I texted my friend, “I want a chocolate chip cookie.” He texted back, “You’ll have one eventually.” This was incredible advice. I genuinely think about it, often. Why am I stressing, in this moment, about wanting a chocolate chip cookie? I’ll have one, eventually. And then, at that time, I’ll have it. This is sort of a parable, I guess. In your life, the chocolate chip cookie is ever leaving your apartment. You’ll leave it eventually. Not now, though. Because it is preferable that you don’t potentially spread a pandemic.
👩💻👨💻 Work in the Time of Corona
WFH Advice For Novices is practically it’s own cottage industry now - I feel like I’ve already clicked through ten of these this week - but the above is my favorite so far.
🍵 Smashing Tea Cups
The twitter user who posted this went private shortly afterwards but I found the thread extremely helpful. Maybe you will too.
I know we’re all tired of hearing/talking about it, but one thing I HAVEN’T really seen going around is advice for what happens if you DO get coronavirus (many of us will), only advice for how to try to AVOID it. So as your friendly neighborhood RN, a wee thread:
Things you should *actually* buy ahead of time (Erm, not sure what the obsession with toilet paper is?): Kleenex, Acetaminophen (Tylenol) in 350 mg tablets, Ibuprofen (Advil) in 200 mg tablets, Mucinex, Robitussin or DayQuil/NyQuil, whatever your cough medicine of choice is.
If you don’t have a humidifier, that would also be a good thing to get. (You can also just turn the shower on hot and sit in the bathroom breathing in the steam). Also a good time to make a big batch of your favorite soup to freeze and have on hand.
If you have a history of asthma and you have a prescription inhaler, make sure the one you have isn’t expired and refill it/get a new one if it is.
You basically just want to prepare as though you know you’re going to get a nasty respiratory bug like bronchitis or pneumonia. You just have the foresight to know it’s coming.
The whole thing is reposted here.
Alright, you may want to skip this next part depending on your head space. I understand the preference not to know exactly what’s happening abroad and what may be headed here. It can be too much. FWIW I found these very sobering and helpful.
A Frontline Physician Speaks Out on the Coronavirus: “I’ve been walking around for the last week seeing what’s coming and feeling somehow unable to share that clearly and effectively.”
The Extraordinary Decisions Facing Italian Doctors. A clean version of what doctors are now grappling with in Italy.
I feel the pressure to give you a quick personal update about what is happening in Italy, and also give some quick direct advice about what you should do. Something much more raw.
One Last Resource
🦠 The COVID-19 Google Doc
Take it away, Noah Brier:
The goal of this document is to try and synthesize some of what I’ve read/am reading down to something manageable for everyone. While I’m not an expert in virology, epidemiology, or medicine, I do consider myself an expert in reading, research, and synthesis. None of these ideas, nor most of these words, are my own. Everything here has a source link, as it’s particularly critical that we are careful with the information that is shared. I will add more as I read it. If anything is incorrect or miscited, please let me know. - @heyitsnoah
Terrific stuff, and a nice coda if you’re still clicking through.
If you found anything helpful here, please consider forwarding this along to whoever you think would benefit.
Please take care — Bret