It’s just a virus

Hey everyone! Welcome back!

First and foremost, Danny is healthy. Very healthy. We are 8 months post-transplant, and we couldn’t have asked for a better 8 months. We’re feeling very lucky and have so much to be thankful for. But I’m going to dive into the Coronavirus chatter on this entry, so if you’re tired of it, you came to the wrong place. The last week has been a rollercoaster for everyone. It’s incredible how far the effects of this virus reach. But I want to share what it means for us.

This phrase I keep hearing, “It’s just a virus”; it’s slightly triggering. I want to help explain the gravity of it, because it is heavy for us, and if you love us, then it’s heavy for you by default. (I don’t make the rules...) So what does ‘just a virus’ mean anyway? What are you insinuating? It’s not a big deal because everyone can just ride viruses out at home? Viruses are a normal occurrence?  Maybe that’s true. I definitely don’t condone the hysteria (SN: WOW, guys. What a time to be alive), but our reality is that we don’t get to ride out fevers at home. A fever for us means an instant hospitalization, and the irony is that hospitals are often the most dangerous places for him. The crude reality of this virus for us is that it could be a death sentence, and that’s why we’re taking it so seriously.

If Danny were to catch this virus, he doesn’t get to sit at home and fight the virus naturally because he has “age on his side”. He takes medications every day to lower his immune system so his body doesn’t attack his new lungs. His body doesn’t have a checkpoint like O’hare where all the organisms stand in line waiting to see if they get to pass the screening or not. It’s Dazed and Confused like Wooderson. Anything goes. Come on in! Make yourself at home, COVID-19. This virus could cause long term damage to his lungs. We are guarding these precious gifts with everything we have, and we hope our friends and families will do the same for us, for people like us, and most importantly, for themselves.

This is a good segue into social distancing.  This part is important so before I get any further into my long-winded spiel and lose you, I want you to hear this part.  Social distancing is such a small sacrifice with a large impact. There’s an image that was circulating of matchsticks lined up. The left portion is burned and the right is safe because one match removed itself from the flames before it caught fire and passed the flame on to the other matches. It was THE best visual representation of what needed to happen.

While I’ve been physically distancing, I have NOT been digitally distancing. My screen time is through the roof, and I am all over the social meeds (read: TikTok. Not sorry). While I’m being serious about our concerns and this situation, don’t get me wrong. I’m always here for a meme and joke that toes the line. The comedic relief has been welcomed.

In my “research”, I’ve seen a lot of different perspectives on this, and one I really loved was this: If everyone self-quarantined for 2 weeks, then after 2 weeks that group of people could safely quarantine together, and the size of the group would grow until the number of new cases is nominal. Not everyone has that luxury, but the number of people who could exercise that right is much smaller than the ones that actually are.

So there’s all that, right? And it seems like that’s enough, but then... THEN... there’s this asymptomatic aspect, where people are testing positive out there but they have no symptoms. Just walking around as if nothing is wrong spreading the virus as they happily skip through stores and restaurants just living their non-quarantined/non-distanced lives.  So unless they get tested, they may never know they're carrying it. And people may never know where they got it. Can your brain handle that? Mine was at the top of the not okay list for that one.

Alright, I think that’s it. So I’ll wrap it up. Regardless of how it got here, it’s here. People are sick. People are dying. It’s spreading like an invisible wildfire. We stay home, and we miss our friends and family. And the more our friends and family put themselves at risk because they’re young or generally healthy or not showing symptoms, the longer our isolation period lasts. And it’s accurately named: isolation is isolating. Physically and emotionally.

Stay home to stop the spread.

Stay home before our government forces you to stay home.

Stay home because we miss you <3

Disclaimer: I understand there are other factors at play here.  Everyone's situation is different. At the very least, just have the best of intentions.