I
have a letter-to-the-editor published in The Observer-Reporter today.
I actually explained it better in the post in my blog as the letter
writing has to be concise and to the point at the expense of more
detailed explanations.
Stay
home, save lives. Wear face coverings, stop the spread
Not
having the talent of our daughter, Jo, of making cloth face masks for
others, to spread the useful messages of “stay home, save lives,
wear face coverings and stop the spread” is the least I can do. This war can only be won when everyone participates in the fight. There is no better way
to get the messages out in the newspaper.
The
following is what a daughter of our family friend wrote in response to my
post. It made me all the more happy as I did not send the email to
her; people must have passed along my blog posts.
Her
writings represents the love and concern of our adult children to us,
and from one who truly understands the ferocity and viciousness of
this horrendous virus, which I never observed in my entire
professional career, simply put how easy one can get it.
(The
following is her response)
Hi
Dr. Tsai,
Thanks
for writing the post to your peers reminding them of the critical
importance of STAYING HOME and if you absolutely must go to a place
where there are other people, please wear a face mask. On behalf of
all of your adult children and grandchildren, please make these
changes in your daily lives. I know it is difficult because we are
creatures of habit. We take joy in the simple pleasures in life.
However, for just a short time (1-2 months, or even just the next 2
weeks), we're asking you to simply stay at home. This is the
safest place to be.
This
means:
-
NO GROCERY STORES. If you *must* go, go during early morning hours
for elderly folks, or try to space these visits out to 2+ wks, and
WEAR A MASK (and gloves, wipe the handle of the cart down). Best is
to have your kids setup online grocery delivery to your house for a
few weeks.
-
No bakeries, you don't need that pastry.
-
No bank, depositing checks can wait.
-
No drive through McDonald's coffee
-
No Sam's Club or Costco or Target or Walmart
-
If you need to get some fresh air, go for a walk around your block.
Sunshine and fresh air are still good. Or call your kids if you're
bored.
As
you can see, my friends and I have had to call our parents every 1-2
days and YELL AT THEM FOR NON COMPLIANCE. The above are all the
things we have collectively argued with parents about. The reason why
we are all so adamant that you protect yourself and reduce exposure
is because we know that if you get sick, 1) we don't get to stay with
you at the hospital, 2) we don't get to visit you on the med floors,
3) we don't get to be with you in ICU. The absolute worst thing
about covid19 is that patients are dying alone in ICU. The
consequences for the elderly, immunocompromised, or those w
underlying co-morbidities is simply too high to make it worth any of
the above activities. Plus your grandchildren would like to have
their grandparents around for a few more years if possible.
So
please stay home! Wear a mask. It's just a few weeks, or few
months. You can do it!
Thanks. XXXXX
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