It’s Gone Viral: One Woman’s View on the Coronavirus

Well, blog family, the coronavirus is here. And, boy oh boy, is it ever nuts out there on social media. Like really nuts. I abstained from commenting on some posts and muted some of my feed (just being honest) because the negativity on social media overwhelms my sensitive soul. But, this is my blog and my platform. So, here’s what one female healthcare worker in Baltimore thinks about the coronavirus.

COVID-19

To start, let me say that I’ve seen some speculation about whether this is for real. The data seems to show that COVID-19 is a novel virus (no one’s ever had it), and it’s spreading at such a rate that the majority of people in the US will be exposed. Take a look at this:

For every sick person from coronavirus you hear about on the radio, likely three additional people are directly infected. Those three people have each infected three people (9). Then, those people infected three people each (27). AND, so on.

So, that’s a lot of math, but it’s easy to see that during an incubation period of 14 days, that number is astounding.

The Problem with Coronavirus

Now, most people don’t get that sick from coronavirus, which is totally true. The issue isn’t the mortality of the virus (how likely it causes death), the issue is the velocity of transmission. Before a test diagnoses a person, they can infect a lot of people. While only a small percentage get sick, 2% of 14,348,907 (in the above photo) is 286,978. We have 45,000 ICU beds nationwide and 925,00 staffed hospital beds. However, 286,978 sick people is the number from one index case. What if there are many? What if all those people need ICU beds with ventilators? You do the math.

So, here’s my plea. While I carried some laundry in my upstairs hallway, I thought about the vulnerable population when a realization ripped through me like a bayonet.

Dad is immunosuppressed.

My father takes immunosuppressive medications due to a medical condition. He is at risk. Here’s also 72 years old and outside of the ventilator triage cutoff age currently happening in Italy.

My. Dad.

Currently, I’m praying for a husband in 2020. While I know the ridiculousness of this (it’s March and I’m not even dating anyone), I persist in this prayer because I’ve committed to doing so despite all the evidence I see. Not only that, but I continue to enroll people in my prayer team (maybe I don’t want to be alone in my craziness?).

Let me tell you with absolute certainty that if God answers my prayer and my dad isn’t there to see it, I will be devastated. Devastated.

Even if you’re going to be okay, not everybody will be…or at least people have the potential to not be okay. So please, please, please do what you can. Limit how much you go out around other people. Cook at home. Only venture to the store when you really need to.

I beg you… for me, for my dad…please do what you can and help slow the transmission of COVID-19. We all have a role to play.

Thanks for listening.

Love, K.

Author of Ten Iron Principles, Contributor in The Power to Make a Difference