This topic is interesting to me in so many ways. Not only in what we will 5 years from now, but mostly because it is new, and it is ever changing. We started with limited information and base decisions on what we are given. Then new, different information is received and we need to absorb it, process it and makes sense of it so that we can pivot and change so that we are incorporating that new information into the equation.

As a person that practices in a health care setting, I still consider myself lucky. I do the work I do because I love it and I enjoy working with people that are looking for solutions to their pain. Has my family experienced loss of loved ones from Covid-19. Yes, we have. By no means am I trying to make light of these losses, they are tough! It has gotten to a point that there are more people that have some instance where they know of someone that has had Covid or have been exposed in some way.

The question then comes, what do you do in response to knowing all this information? Do you become paranoid, fearful. What happens when you feel that you have been using all the safe practices possible but you still receive a test saying Covid is detected? Victim mode can kick in, resentment, you start to hyper focus on all of your most recent exchanges with people, you can point a finger, you can blame, you can get angry, but ultimately what does it change? Not a darn thing. You have facts, you make decisions based on those facts, in the case of CDC and Public Health any persons in contact with you get notified anonymously so they can make educated decisions to keep from spreading the virus.

There is a reason that people are notified anonymously, I understand this, not only to safe guard the individual but also to ensure that others possibly affected take the necessary precautions. However there is still a stigma associated with it. It is easy to feel guilty and beat yourself up. You don’t want people to know because of fear of what others might think and how they might judge you.

Living in a pandemic is interesting. I honestly believe there is no person that would want to infect anyone else with something that could possible have a tremendous impact on someone’s well being. I do believe in being honest and having conversations with individuals to let them know what is going on. It is hard to not react with fear. I believe that when you step up and share this type of information with others it is a sign of good character, you are being honest and vulnerable during a tough situation, but showing respect for others.

However this can backfire on you, you can have the best of intents and if the other person is not in a space to receive this information but coming from a victim or fear mode, then you might question all you good intentions.

Bottom line we are in a pandemic, not everyone show symptoms, there is no exact method to determine how you came to get the virus. Yes we can use current information to try to narrow down when we were exposed, but still there is no serial number to identify it. We can judge people and say that they must not have had safe practices but what do we actually know. We don’t. The only thing we can do is do our very best. Wear a mask, wash your hands, be mindful when and if you are around other people.

We are in a pandemic that is constantly changing. Being fearful is not helpful, instead I’m reminded that we have yet to totally understand all the information we need to know about this virus. The idea of immunizing the heard seems to be the most plausible at this point to limit the loss of life. I’m just hopeful that once people become immunized they do not become slack in their practice of wearing a mask.

We can not see the virus, some people get severe symptoms while others get mild to no symptoms. Because of this I’m reminded of when I was training to be an Emergency Medical Technician (many years ago. You treat every person as if they have a blood borne pathogen or in this case as if they have the virus. You wear the proper Personal Protective Equipment to keep you and the other person safe.

I pray for all those and their loved ones that have had to deal with this type of scenario, it is not easy, it can be scary, but we as people can still show kindness, love and support for others. By pulling back and get stressed and not communicating with people we are not helping, we are limiting ourselves and limiting our good on this world.