Friday, Self-Isolation Day #21
Please continue to pray for my husband's mother D. on a ventilator in ICU with confirmed COVID-19. We very much appreciate it, even though we are choosing not to give detailed, blow-by-blow health updates in this public forum.
I've been blogging daily during this international crisis, so you can go check out those posts. Writing daily helps me maintain sanity: what helps you?
We wrapped up our school week today. I do love homeschooling. One of the kids has made it her goal to complete in her free time two middle-school science courses on Biology and The History of Medicine, and really wants to take an online Anatomy course this summer. We'll see how these goals play out, but in the meantime I'm thrilled to see a child follow his or her passions . . . because much of the time the student body here is flopping on the floor about having to do things that do not follow their passions (math, grammar, whatever misery Mama has assigned that day).
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| First grader reading |
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| First grader doing math, not confined to a desk |
Today I had each of the oldest three kids cycle through half-hour shifts of babysitting the youngest two boys outdoors all morning while I taught school. It was very productive.
In the afternoon, our four-year-old created an entire puppet show, set up a theater of chairs, and made paper ticket for the patrons. It was so precious, but I will spare you the three-minute video I made. Suffice it to say that a mouse went for a walk and then was joined by a fly, a bumblebee, and a spider. Then the mouse fell off a cliff and was rescued by the bee. The End.
As we are wrapping up the music season with most competitions cancelled (and some moved to an online format), I am slowly recording the children's completed pieces. Today was my thirteen-year-old's turn to be recorded, which you're welcome to enjoy:
- Toccata in a minor (Timothy Brown) and Moonlight Sonata 1st Mvt (Beethoven)
- Sonatina in F Major by Beethoven
- Sweet Dreams Op. 39 No. 21 by Tchaikovsky
- A Memory of Vienna by William Gillock
After much riding of bikes, climbing trees, exploring the woods, and playing street hockey, the kids came in for Friday night pizza, which I had served as pinwheels tonight. Yummier that way. One of my children sincerely asked me tonight, "How did you become such a good cook, Mama?" I burst out laughing as I looked at the plate of pinwheels (the entirety of what I served!) made of Pillsbury dough out of a can, one can of pizza sauce, and two bags of mozzarella shredded cheese.
We were planning to walk Stations of the Cross today at the local Vietnamese parish, which has an outdoor stations, but just today a neighbor posted the below on our neighborhood's private Facebook page. We were so excited and emotionally touched.
"Hi Neighbors-the ---------- --------- culdesac has been transformed into a CIRCLE OF HOPE with an Easter egg display and the Stations of the Cross. As we approach Easter, may we be encouraged remembering this season and the hope it brings in the resurrection and renewal. Walk or drive by if you feel inclined!"
Chris took the older children over to pray Stations while I gave baths and bedtime to the exhausted, overtired, non-napped two youngest boys.
Bonus Reading for Posterity:
- WE LOVE BIG BROTHER
- This is not satire: Philippines president gives authorities okay to shoot those violating coronavirus lockdown orders
- The U.S. has already started to realize that there should statistically be a second hump of COVID-19 infections when we are someday let out of this lockdown and now we can look to China to see that happening there: China Begins Mass Quarantines AGAIN After Failing To Stop Coronavirus
*Cases Numbers are Cases Ever Occurring, not
Current Cases
Worldwide
|
Open
cases: Mild
|
Open
cases: Serious/Critical
|
Closed
Cases: Mild
|
Closed
Cases: Death
|
USA
Cases (Deaths)
|
NC
Cases (deaths)
|
SC
Cases (deaths)
|
|
3/12/20
|
9
(0)
|
10
|
||||||
3/13/20
|
138,585
|
91%
|
9%
|
93%
|
7%
|
15
(0)
|
7?
(0)
|
|
3/14/20
|
148,051
|
91%
|
9%
|
93%
|
7%
|
2,329
|
23
(0)
|
19
(0)
|
3/15/20
|
157,476
|
93%
|
7%
|
93%
|
7%
|
3,045
(60)
|
32
(0)
|
28
(0)
|
3/16/20
|
173,101
|
93%
|
7%
|
92%
|
8%
|
3,802
(69)
|
33
(0)
|
28
(0)
|
3/17/20
|
186,993
|
93%
|
7%
|
92%
|
8%
|
4,744
(93)
|
40
(0)
|
33
(1)
|
3/18/20
|
200,106
|
94%
|
6%
|
91%
|
9%
|
6,524
(116)
|
63
(0)
|
47
(1)
|
3/19/20
|
226,525
|
95%
|
5%
|
90%
|
10%
|
9,477
(155)
|
97
(0)
|
60
(1)
|
3/20/20
|
252,731
|
95%
|
5%
|
90%
|
10%
|
14,366
(217)
|
137
(0)
|
81
(1)
|
3/21/20
|
278,560
|
95%
|
5%
|
89%
|
11%
|
19,774
(275)
|
184
(0)
|
125
(1)
|
3/22/20
|
308,720
|
95%
|
5%
|
88%
|
12%
|
26,900
(348)
|
255
(0)
|
173
(3)
|
3/22/20
|
349,980
|
95%
|
5%
|
87%
|
13%
|
35,070
(458)
|
297
(0)
|
195
(3)
|
3/23/20
|
386,406
|
95%
|
5%
|
86%
|
14%
|
46,168
(582)
|
398
(0)
|
298
(5)
|
3/24/20
|
434,983
|
96%
|
4%
|
85%
|
15%
|
54,968
(784)
|
504
(1)
|
342
(7)
|
3/25/20
|
Forgot to check numbers
|
|||||||
3/26/20
|
491,180
|
95%
|
5%
|
84%
|
16%
|
68,814
(1037)
|
636
(2)
|
424
(7)
|
3/27/20
|
548,807
|
95%
|
5%
|
84%
|
16%
|
85,749
(1304)
|
763
(3)
|
456
(9)
|
3/28/20
|
645,118
|
95%
|
5%
|
82%
|
18%
|
116,050
(1937)
|
935
(4)
|
539
(13)
|
3/29/20
|
701,844
|
95%
|
5%
|
82%
|
18%
|
131,403
(2329)
|
1,040
(4)
|
660
(15)
|
3/30/20
|
739,385
|
95%
|
5%
|
82%
|
18%
|
142,793
(2490)
|
1,167
(5)
|
774
(16)
|
3/31/20
|
803,547
|
95%
|
5%
|
82%
|
18%
|
164,665
(3177)
|
1,498
(8)
|
925
(18)
|
4/1/20
|
875,445
|
95%
|
5%
|
81%
|
19%
|
188,647
(4059)
|
1,584
(9)
|
1,083
(22)
|
4/2/20
|
950,705
|
95%
|
5%
|
81%
|
19%
|
215,357
(5113)
|
1,857
(16)
|
1,293
(26)
|
4/3/20
|
1,030,285
|
95%
|
5%
|
80%
|
20%
|
245,380
(6,095)
|
2,093
(19)
|
1,554
(31)
|
For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.
If I still had my molecule-building kit from college, I'd offer it to Mary. (I unfortunately passed it along to some church kids 10 years ago.)
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate reading your daily posts during this time. I'm keeping D. in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, LeighAnna. I appreciate your kindness.
DeletePlease tell us where did the chart showing the percentages of severe and mild cases come from? Thank God most are mild. But what is the point you wish to make? What do you think we should do? Send everybody back to work, certainly back to their mega churches (I do wish that the churches could control the situation on their own) where it will spread like wildfire? Imagine if that were the case. Half the population gets sick maybe the number of severe cases increases among younger people due to repeated and high levels of exposure and there are then more deaths among younger people. (Many young healthy medical personnel, in their 20’s and 30’s who have been in just such a situation have died). It would be totally selfish and irresponsible to do so all in the name of not being willing to suffer a few personal hardships for a few months to save countless lives.
ReplyDeleteWe are at war! There are still some people living who knew the deprivations and sacrifices brought on by a country at war even if that war was overseas. No you and I don’t have to worry about losing our jobs, not having an income, paying our bills. My understanding at the moment is that approximately 2,000,000 people have applied for unemployment benefits. Help for them is on the way as it should be.
In the meantime most of us are willing to do our duty patiently and faithfully and continue to pray for the 5% of severely effected people. Especially those who are suffering alone. We will do this and we will get through it. It is the right thing to do the Christian thing to do. The saints did and do. Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce pray for us.
For the most part, I'm sharing articles and numbers because I find them incredibly interesting and consider this a digital form of saving newspaper clippings in a shoebox for my children one day to look at from the time "Mama and Daddy lived through COVID-19." I'm merely sharing statistics and statistics should not cause inflamed feelings. I never suggested we do nothing, that I hate old people and want them to die, or anything inflammatory. We all have immunocompromised loved ones close in our lives--every one of us. I do believe that it is reasonable and measured to say that the virus is dangerous, economic collapse is dangerous, and loss of civil liberties is dangerous, and that we can have a reasonable, mature conversation about all of these factors and how to balance them. I think it is reasonable to discuss that economic devastation (think Venezuela and many other examples) is not just an inconvenience (a word I'm seeing printed often) but is actual dead people, actual lives lost, and quite probably more than COVID could kill. It is precisely because my family is secure in our comfortable home, with access to the beautiful fresh air and a secure job (already working from home) that I feel particularly concerned about the much greater proportion of Americans who live week to week, who are living in apartments and are truly stuck in 4 walls, who won't get their jobs back or their small businesses, whose lives will be extremely damaged, not "inconvenienced" like mine. I think it is reasonable to be studying the medical facts and statistics as they come pouring in so that we really can compare this illness and its behavior so that we don't have to use anecdotes or imagine "countless numbers." Right now, the worst case scenario actually supported by scientific data is a death rate of 1% (which is higher than influenza), but when we have an antibodies test and can study that we think a much, much higher number of the population has already caught a mild presentation of COVID-19 and thus has immunity to it, then the mortality rate would prove to be exponentially lower. When I turn on certain television news programs daily, I am distressed to see mere anecdotal stories being shared (anecdotes do not make science), videos made from strangers' iPhones plucked from social media (again, not science), and no actual hard numbers (with citations) shared at all, yet plenty of inflammatory words. I prefer to read the medical articles and statistics from all the sciences, including economics, while I quietly await how this will all shake out.
DeleteI appreciate your thoughtful response and your taking a calm level headed approach. I agree that we cannot take action based on the many sad and fatal stories out there. We have to look at the numbers to put the situation in perspective and these numbers/models change daily. For example I wrote that there were two million applications for unemployment when there are as of Friday now ten million! However I think the drastic changes we are forced to make in our lives, staying at home are necessary at this point especially in light of what has/is taking place in other countries. Yes unfortunately this requires us to momentarily give up some of our freedoms but I have faith in the resolute American spirit and that the Lord will help us get through this. Sometimes however I get the impression that some people would like to argue that we are doing all this only to save a few more lives. However it could also be that actually many more lives will be saved. We do not know.
DeletePS. What a beautiful gesture from your neighbor for Holy Week the circle of hope with stations of the cross!
DeleteIt's so true, we will never know how many lives were saved! Believe me, I'm not seeking to go out in large groups of people right now. I'm nervous and anxious. I do pray that the resilient American spirit helps us rebound.
DeleteThe way I'm getting through this? Fasting from most media and finding things I *CAN* do each day... like plan out Easter baskets for my family, blog about faith things, organize things for my boss (being OCD is a gift), and geek for my church.
ReplyDeleteNot able to hold Palm Sunday worship? No problem. Palm printables for kids to color and blessed palms left outside for people to get and use on Sunday morning. I'm the "cyber verger" for Zoom worship tomorrow morning, so I'll be muting and unmuting people during worship tomorrow including those in the sanctuary (priest, priest's wife, and deacon) and our musician who is across the state in Spokane. We're also doing a coffee hour on Zoom afterward, and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was for people to turn on their cameras last week and be able to see faces.
Regarding D, she is my prayers. It's going to be a marathon with her for recovery, and the key to getting through it each day is to find something that went right, even if it is that she had fewer desaturation episodes than the day before. These are lessons learned 11 years ago this coming week when my son was born at 29.5 weeks by emergency c-section when I developed severe preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome. (If something is going to go wrong in a pastor's family, it *WILL* be during Holy Week. My former husband is a Lutheran pastor, and Daniel was born on the Tuesday of Holy Week.)