Reading all of this stuff about coronavirus or COVID-19 is really scary, especially since I’m a person with certain underlying health conditions and as the CDC says, I’m at risk. Here is their latest advice.
I relayed my concerns to my wife Andrea the other day and though she also has an underlying health condition (multiple sclerosis), she is not going to let this panic get to her. Being that she worked for the CDC for nearly two decades, I am more likely to listen to her than every news show in the world.
Then I think of my Nana Rose. She fought. She didn’t panic when it came to her circumstances. She lived!
I choose to live my life…
I’m going to live my life with caution regarding washing my hands, keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer on me at all times, and holding off on flying for the time being. But I’m still going out in public and not holding back. We only get one opportunity to live life and I refuse to let the media scare me out of doing so. Still, I have to be more apt to rely on my “germaphobic” tendencies, which is something I discussed on a recent post Confessions of a Germaphobe.
Tips for Staying Relatively Germ-Free:
- WASH YOUR HANDS
- Avoid touching your face.
- Avoid people who are coughing and sneezing or look sick.
We recently returned from a Disney trip celebrating my mother in law who passed away a year ago. This was her happy place. For the last few days, it was ours too, though I made some adjustments since I was around tens of thousands of people. I’ve always carried a hand sanitizer bottle with me, but I’m using it a lot more often now. (I’m still willing to do endorsements for the company if they’re looking for an avid user. Ha ha!) At Disney, I used it before and after each ride, before and after each meal, and just anytime I touched a foreign surface. We also used wipes to wipe down other things, including the hotel room remote control, phone, and door handles. We did not fly as that is something I’m taking a hiatus from if avoidable. As always if I DO fly I will be wearing a mask and wiping down my seat, tray table, and TV monitor on the plane.
Last night, we sat Shiva for my grandmother Rose, a Jewish tradition where family and friends come to your house to give their condolences and help you pray after the loss of a loved one. I let everyone know that I have made another change. It’s one that I was hesitant to do but I know it’s the right thing. Instead of shaking hands, I’m now doing the elbow-to-elbow in which we touch elbows instead of hands. It feels awkward right now but I’m going to have to get used to it. In a way, I feel like I’m giving into all of the media hype but I realize that educating myself and doing the right things is not giving into the paranoia but actually smart. The coronavirus routine is going to become my new normal.
It’s ironic that a drug like Trikafta made me feel like everyone else for a short period of time but now coronavirus and my “at risk” situation has brought back that same feeling of having to be extra careful because of my chronic disease.
Of course, first I remind you to discuss with your health officials before making decisions impacting your health, but I also ask that you go from crisis to cautious mode and not hoard wipes, masks, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper. It benefits all of us especially the elderly, those of us with chronic conditions, and medical personnel who are trying to help. (If you are going to hoard toilet paper, please only take the single-ply. Those of us with CF really need the double-ply. Ha ha!)
On a more serious note, if you feel any symptoms of sickness, stay home and call your doctor in order to protect high-risk people like me, and everyone else. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As for me, I’m going to make the most of every day. It’s a lesson I learned from Nana Rose and from having cystic fibrosis.
Live your dreams and love your life.