“The Only People” Are Someone’s Only Person

I’m going to be a little honest here when I tell you that I am OVER hearing that COVID-19 is “just the flu” and the “only people who will die are the elderly and the immunosuppressed.”

Excuse me, what?

The “only people that will die…”

How do you say that and be morally okay with the words coming out of your mouth? “The only people…” are someone’s ONLY person.

You know who is elderly? My parents. Probably YOUR parents. And our grandparents. My mom is soon to be 60, my dad is soon to be 61. My mom has underlying COPD, do you know what COVID-19 would do to her, if it’s as serious as it is? I don’t even want to think about it. Do you know the amount of elderly people who are living in nursing homes that are their grandkids everything? “The only people…”

You know who is immunosuppressed? Kids with cancer who I work with on a daily basis. Transplant patients. Chronic neutropenic patients. People who are on chronic steroids.

You know who else is at high risk? Individuals with underlying conditions. Asthmatics, heart conditions, lung diseases… the list goes on.

The thing about this new virus, is it’s new. So we don’t know enough about it to say what could potentially happen if contracted. But we do see what is happening in Italy and that scares me. I see hospitals overcrowded, cities on quarantine and medical professionals doing everything they can to help individuals affected (THANK YOU medial staff.)

I am not here to offer any scientific medical advice or to scare you into hiding. What I am here to tell you is to be MINDFUL. Be PROACTIVE. Be ALERT. Go into your day as if you’re the one who is elderly or immunocompromised. Wash your hands frequently. Stay home if you’re feeling ill. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t think because you’re healthy and young that you contracting COVID-19 isn’t serious. Because if you contracted it, and you’ve been in public, you’ve likely exposed someone who isn’t young and healthy.

Now is the time to become a selfless and better person. If you’re able, reach out to those around you who may be fearful of going into public to get necessary items. Remind your friends who may not be taking this serious, to take it serious. And again… continue to use standard precautions and wash your hands. We don’t have to let COVID-19 define us.

For updates on COVID-19, please closely monitor the CDC.

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Join Erin Tracy, a pediatric oncology nurse in Jacksonville, Florida, at fourthandgoldllc.com as she continues her quest to Go For The Cure of childhood cancers.