Coronavirus is Here, Now What?

“Kindness is a wonderful way to let another struggling soul know that there is still love in the world”.

Out of the gate I will humbly admit that I let the worst of the internet overcome my emotions, and I spiraled into all out political wars on facebook and for that I will correct myself and state that I am actively working on my approach to handling this unprecedented time, but none of us are perfect and we must all try to continue to be the best version of ourselves that we can!

  Let me make one thing clear regardless of political agenda or affiliations we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER and Corona is above politics, this is a WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, and now more than ever we must band together as HUMAN BEINGS in the darkest of hours.

As someone who isn’t afraid to discuss tough topics, I also try to use humor to diffuse the seriousness, however today’s tone may be more solemn, but I felt compelled to write about this time- as well it is affecting every single one of us!

Most importantly I want to make sure that everyone knows that no matter how isolated one may feel- we are all isolated together. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

The Many Stages of Emotions

Make no mistake, what we are going through right now in this world is something that none of us have ever seen in the history of our time. “Normal life” seems like it was yesterday but at the same time feels like it was a lifetime ago.

The thought of going back to normal life is almost too hard to comprehend because we have no definite timeline of when this will go to and the unknown creates a lot of anxiety for many. As human beings it feels so unnatural to be in a state of social isolation because it is unnatural. We need human connections to survive mentally, however this is what it is for now- for the sake of LIFE and DEATH!

SO much of what we define ourselves by has suddenly been halted, and we must “grieve” for the experiences we are missing and deal with the sudden and abrupt change in our lives from this point forward. A change that we didn’t ask for and that has turned our world upside down in what feels like a matter of minutes.

We must also come to acceptance that this is what the current situation is and to make the most of it. We have NO choice  and the sooner we accept the situation the sooner we can move forward.

 

Anger, Frustration and disappointment

“The Nature of Humanity, It’s essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own, and to act to take that pain away. There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness”. –-John Connolly

      Never in my life could I have ever imagined that the entire world would abruptly halt and that life as we know it would be at a standstill, but here we are.

 Like so many people, I too didn’t understand the severity of the Corona Virus, and I too downplayed rumors of what we heard, and would even laugh at people wearing masks from about January on in NYC. For this I regret my actions and apologize to anyone I offended in the way. I too wish we took actions earlier- but all we can do is learn from this and move forward.

At a time like this wanting to place blame is only normal in the stages of processing all of these emotions. I know for some people they want to pinpoint and blame where this virus came from and I get that, I have been there. I also understand that people want to place blame on our leaders for not acting quicker or for not preparing us more- I HAVE STRUGGLED EVERYDAY with this and I have failed multiple times.

What I have however realized is that by placing blame, we get nowhere. This is an extremely “unfortunate”( for lack of better word) situation that none of us could have ever fully prepared for.

We must rise to the occasion, learn from our past mistakes, keep moving forward and let karma work itself out- after all it isn’t for us to distribute.

While yes  it’s natural to want to place blame, personally I find that if I allow this emotion of anger and blame to overpower me this only causes me to spiral into a web of hate and anger and that is not a place where any of us can maintain a healthy mental state during this period of social isolation.

 

Immune Compromised

Lymphoma, Leukemia ,Lupus, Sjogren Syndrome, Diabetes, Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac, Chron’s Disease, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease, MS, Epilepsy.

Just to name a few of the many, many illnesses that cause one’s immune system to become compromised.

Immune compromised.

God am I sick of this word.

Due to my underlying auto immune disease of Lupus, I am now considered to be among the “minority” of those in the world who if they contract Corona -Virus they or “we” hold more of a risk of “surviving” as opposed to others without a compromised immune system.

Make no mistake however, NOT ONE SINGLE ONE OF US IS ABOVE CORONA- so sit your ENTITLED ASS back if you think that you’re above something that is a Global Pandemic. Literally not ONE Country or Continent has been able to successfully control this virus, none of us are immune to it, so stop thinking you are!

This is bigger than any of us and  EFFECTS ALL OF US. 

People Will Survive this, While Others Will Die. 

MANY PEOPLE ARE ASYMPTOMATIC (displaying no symptoms) BUT are contagious. 

WE NEED ALL OF US TO ACT TOGETHER TO GET THROUGH THIS. 

We are all HUMAN BEINGS worthy of life– may we never lose sight of this even in such times.

No one person with an auto immune disease has the exact same experience- as no part of the body is off limits when it’s attacking itself therefore being properly diagnosed and then deciding on a proper course of treatment can take years for many, many people.

For example initially when I was exhibiting unusual symptoms I began being observed and tested. Initially I was told that I most likely had Sjogren’s Syndrome, which can act a lot like lupus, but they are different and the treatments are different. Not so “FUN FACT”: Venus Williams is among those notable names who suffers from Sjogren’s.

Lucky in the Immune Compromised World

Lucky feels like the wrong word to use but it’s honestly how I feel as someone who received a clear diagnosis at a young age, when my symptoms were minimal. This afforded me the luxury of being able to trial run different courses of treatments at lower doses- which were less harsh on my body.

As you may not be aware, the medication and treatments for auto immune diseases can be very, very harsh on the body with many side effects!

All I can think about now is all those who are still working with doctors to pinpoint exactly what auto immune disease they may have and then only once that is determined can they decide on a  proper course of action.

 

On Friday, March 20th, 2020

I woke up to my mother standing over me with sheer panic in her eyes. She was trying to maintain a calmness but I knew she had a lot on her mind- like I imagine every parent does at this time.

What had happened was that during a White House Corona Briefing, the world was made aware that among a few other trial drugs/treatments, hydroxychloroquine or “Plaquenil” was looking favorable as a treatment course for Corona Positive Patients.

Although after the briefing – it was corrected that we do not have the data to yet state that Plaquenil would be effective in combating Corona-Virus however the damage was done.

 

Moral Compasses When It Matters The Most

 

Anyways- I was at a loss, Plaquenil, a drug I had taken for many years, that most people had no idea what it was- was now mainstream. What was now happening was that in sheer panic people were somehow working around the system and in my humble opinion, inhumanly hoarding an unproven drug- that many, immune-compromised people are already using to help them with their day to day struggle with CHRONIC pain.

I was honestly so shocked to see how selfish people were being. Actually I was heartbroken and at a loss for the lack of humanity I saw- HOPELESS.

Although the news seems to change day to day- at the time when it was  prematurely announced that Plaquenil may be helping Corona Patients, it was also still WIDLY believed that Corona Virus was only deadly for the elderly or the immune compromised.

Okay, so think about all those “Healthy” individuals, who somehow obtained this drug, they willingly knew they were taking away a medication that is used to treat the Immune compromised who at the time were the ones who would be most affected if they contracted corona- yet STILL they took the drug.

** Disclaimer**:  I did order myself a 90 day supply once I was able to find a pharmacy who had Plaquenil because I was in fear, so for anyone who is prescribed Plaquenil and needs it obviously I am not referencing you!

I guess those people who somehow obtained Plaquenil are the same people who hoarded toilet paper and diapers- taking them away from those who aren’t privileged enough to afford to buy in bulk or to the elderly who feared going to the store or couldn’t carry it all.

Listen I am no fool to understand that fear and panic drive most reactions during this type of time however we must take a step back and try not to lose our empathy and compassion for human beings- OUR MORAL COMPASSES.

I like to think that CHARACTER is defined by doing the right things, even during the most unprecedented of times.

 

Last Time for Plea’s

 

I beg you all to never lose your compassion for others.

I beg you to take this seriously and do your part- STAY THE FUCK HOME!

I beg you to never think you are above it all- thats called entitlement. 

I beg you to remember that by going out you are not just hurting yourself you are hurting others.

I beg you to remember that every life is worth saving- not just the “healthy and the young”.

Make no mistake- we are ALL being asked to sacrifice SO Much and YES its unfair, but literally it’s in the name of SAVING HUMAN LIVES.

 

 Don’t you think if there was any other option that we had in our resources to resolve this pandemic we would without having to take such harsh measures!?!?

 

With that being said, I am making one last attempt to beg you to remember that those immune compromised, pre- existing medical conditions or elderly people they are not disposable and this is not a game of “Survival of the Fittest”, those people, ME included they are;

 Someone’s Daughter

Someone’s Son

Someone’s Wife

Someone’s Husband

Someone’s Companion

Someone’s Friend

Someone’s Best Friend

Someone’s God- Child

Someone’s Mentor

Someone’s Aunt

Someone’s Uncle

Someone’s Brother

Someone’s Sister

Someone’s Boyfriend

Someone’s Girlfriend

Someone’s Grandfather

Someone’s Grandmother

Someone’s Doctor

Someone’s Nurse

Someone’s Teacher

Someone’s only Someone

 

 We are all Humans

We are All worthy of Life

 Let us not forget what can happen when we start to believe that some lives are more worthy of others.

With that, I have a strong feeling that we will all come together as one.

WE are all humans, WE must do better, WE must be better.

 

  “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. The Opposite of Love is not hate, it’s indifference. 

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

 

 

 This Post is especially dedicated to all of our Healthcare Workers who are on the front line each an everyday risking their lives for us. Real Life Heroes.  

 

I #Staythefuckhomeforyouall

 

Stay safe, stay kind, be well, and don’t box die your hair!

Vibes
Xo,