The corona virus has impacted my life in many ways:1. I was supposed to have surgery on April 22,2020 to help repair my vision, but it was postponed.2. My daughter now has to do therapy sessions at home with masks on.3. I am also not able to work because due to risk of being infected or infecting my client.4. My family is also affected by the corona virus because everyone is feeling overwhelmed.
Age: 51-60
#8
I never thought that I would have to be in protective gear like gloves,facial covering to run to the grocery to pick-up a few items and to come home an cautiously take off all the clothing you wore to the grocery store and disinfect your car, home and more importantly your body after arriving back from the grocery or any place else. This is like a nightmare that could have been avoided by all leaders agreeing to freeze the movement of its people in a timely manner.
Kid-anecdotes
I have been working from home due to the work schedule change with the pandemic. I have a friend who is a single mom, with 3 small children. Mom has not been able to get her wifi service connected and her 3 elementary school children were unable to participate in the virtual classroom setting or get their school work done on time. Mom also had the opportunity to work during those 2 days. I offered to help her for 2 days while she fixed her issue with comcast. In those 2 days I learned so much from them. I learned about the struggles young families have in getting the children on the District website, looking for the assignments that need to be worked on, and the old keeping them on task regiment. I had to put all 3 in separate rooms with makes shift desks. The three year old had some fine motor skills to work on, he did great!I am divorced and my son is 24. I forgot what is was like to have kids in the house. I only had one child so three was quite a challenge. I am proud to say I still managed to get my work done daily. Hats off to all moms and dad struggling to be a teacher. I had some funny moments with them and realized how resilient these children are. I was on a conference call at one point, and I sensed someone slithering on the floor (I had told them I would be on a conference call and could not be disturbed). The 3 year old was trying not to disturb me so he slithered all the way from the doorway to my desk to ask if he was allowed to have a cookie, seems like an appropriate time to get a YES response. One they all finished their schoolwork we went outside to do an Art project. On the second day I was asked when the fine arts class was going to take place. Yes, I did read a book to them about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and we did work on a Jackson Pollack action painting project, the first day. On the second day of our fine arts class we made fabric masks from a t’shirt. The children painted a design on the fabric and then we cut them to size. The 3 year put his mask on and instead of seeing himself as a fictional hero character, he said he was a Doctor. The real heroes of there time. The entire healthcare community who are working hard during this crisis.
Grandchildren education
My grandchildren are now taking online classes but my daughter is an essential worker shes a care giver and while shes working i have my grandchildren the education online is not really hands on so i dont think its really benefiting my grandchildren
Safer at home in Lovely Jupiter
Everyone is home. Normally a good thing but my boys would prefer to be in school (one in High School the other in college). Its a challenge with the uncertainty of the future with AP and AICE exams cancelled. As well as SAT and ACT! But we are fortunate that my husband can do his job from home (and that he has a job!) and we have a pantry and fridge full of food. Im immune compromised with a sore throat and cough so every time I cough (which is often), my husband worries. I am not worried as I dont have a fever or pain. But I havent left the house (except to run) in three weeks! Thank goodness for C25K and Healthier Jupiter! You got me started so I can keep up outdoor activity and wave to neighbors (from a distance) while Im out. We are fortunate to live in lovely Jupiter! Now if only I could find a washable wearable face mask…
Don’t Take the Little thing for granted.
The days are just not the same. You think you have time to do it all but when something like this hits, you wonder what have I been doing with my time. The Corona Virus has impacted me in ways that are simple but yet so meaningful at this time. The little things that I take for granted like going to the grocery store or dropping by to get a bite to eat is now obsolete. Social distancing from my family and friends have been the worst. I can’t even see my mom like I want right now for the fear of her getting sick. She has cancer and things have been put on hold for her now due to the epidemic. I am a person that likes to visit me elderly people and I can’t at the moment. Just walking out the door now I am so much more cautious. My neighbor across the street from me would usually come in the yard and now we’re talking at the edge of the driveways. My little cousins that I see day to day, I can’t anymore because I’m trying to keep my distance and follow the rules. My heart goes out to the elderly that don’t have anyone to check on them and the homeless. I want to help my community out so much but at the risk of becoming sick is so scary. I have learned that the things we take for granted should be the ones that we cherish the most because at anytime they can be stripped from us without warning. I miss the kids that I work with as well, all of them, good, challenged and some a little defiant but what I would do to have conversation with them now.
Starving
I live on a limited income. I ran out of food yesterday after going five days of eating only one meal. I have no money or food stamps. I have no car. The bus is my only transportation. I am considered high risk due to underlying health problems. I have no mask or gloves. I am terrified of going out unprotected. Many of the food pantries have closed or I cannot get to them or there are specific instructions on accessing them which I cannot meet. Example: This link came with a notice of a food pantry that will be open today. You have to have a car, you pull up in line, you cannot get out of your car, when your turn arrives you either open your passenger side window or automatically open your trunk, the food will be handed to you or placed in your trunk, then you drive off. Like I said before, I have no car. I have no family or friends who can help me…
#togetherwecandividedwefall
My 92 year old father lives with me full time. His daily routine includes exercising in our community pool at the building where we reside. Unfortunately, there are people coming down to Florida on vacation to escape the pandemic up north or for what reason, I am not sure. But what they are failing to realize is they are putting our elderly and compromised at risk. They are not self quarantined. I have been quarantined for several weeks as I have a responsibility to my father and to the other compromised individuals who live in my building to keep them safe. Together we can, divided we fall. It’s disheartening that people are not learning that right now. Secondly, how important is food security right now? How important is it to teach people to grow their own food at their homes right now and if they don’t have a place to grow food, having a community garden where they can get fresh produce and fruit. How important is it to be able to feed people fresh produce from an accessible green space? It is relevant now, more than ever. Now is the time to provide people who are at home with the knowledge and supplies to be able to grow their own food and if they don’t have a home to grow their food, providing a space where they can grow their own food and learn from those who can teach them! Losing resources at any time is difficult but now, when people do need access to fresh produce and tools to help them manage their stress, it is incredibly difficult. And for me, personally, I am three classes away from completing the Mindfulness Training Course and without the tools provided to me through this class, I am not sure how I would be able to manage my own stress and be able to keep my father safe and our staff feeling secure. I am personally grateful for the knowledge our educators provide and am hopeful that we will reach more people and spread this knowledge that does feel so relevant and important during this crisis.
Living in Ongoing Emergency Roll
My job tasks have changed, putting aside usual management tasks. I am completely focused on helping keep our programs operational and filling in where needed. I try to keep up to date on changes and new services to share with staff.
A New Reality: The Journey of a Second Grade Teacher Through the Pandemic
Hi. I’ll start at the beginning. I’m a elementary school teacher. A little more than two weeks ago I started to feel bad. Like I had the flu times 10. I wasn’t surprised because my children have been sick for over 3 weeks with the same symptoms as we’re talking about now. One I sent to the nurse had a high fever, wheezing, could barely stand up. He went home, and went to the hospital where they kept him overnight. He was out the next two days, then back in school, still sick. So, I started to have the same symptoms, minus the fever. Since then I’ve seen two doctors, two different rounds of antibiotics and no effect. I tested negative for the flu. Last Sunday I felt so bad, extremely weak, like I could barely walk. At the suggestion of the health department, I went to the hospital. My goal was to get tested. They quickly informed me that they had no testing kits and that no hospital in Palm Beach County had testing kits and that they didn’t even know of a drive thru place and that I probably wouldn’t be tested anyway because I’m not over 65 and have no underlying health conditions. They drew blood, took a chest xray, and told me I was basically healthy. I said, If I’m so healthy, why do I feel like crap? They said, Well, you probably have some kind of virus. They gave me a bag of IV fluids and after a while sent me on my way. They told me to come back if I started to turn blue. Yes, they really said that because those are the patients they are seeing now. Scary. Since Sunday, I’ve slowly started to feel better. Until last night. It’s like a wave. I am completely congested, coughing again, (dry cough) back pain like a knife, extremely tired, etc…. While this is all going on, I’ve had to order a new laptop because my current one isn’t up to par with what the school district is expecting us to accomplish. I’ve been watching countless live and recorded seminars on creating virtual classrooms, setting up links to assignments, hosting virtual meetings, participating in virtual meetings sometimes 2-3 day with my fellow teachers, calling, emailing and messaging my parents and students, trying to get them into my Google classroom. It’s exhausting. I’ve been on the computer until 11 every night looking at what my students are doing now, creating reading and math lessons for them, and learning a new format I didn’t expect to do, at least right now. But, I think we will all be a lot better at tech when this is all over. So, I’m grateful for that. I don’t want to sound like I’m whining. My brother-in-law got laid off this week from a job he’d been at for 20 years. There are people a lot worse off. I saw it when I was in the emergency room myself. I am grateful to still have my job, still be able to communicate with my friends and family, and still be able to hug my dog. Even though I’ve been completely isolated for over two weeks now and counting, it could be worse. Thank you for reading my story…..