After a Month ...

A month ago I wrote about how we can get through this. I firmly believe we will but I must admit things sure have changed in one months time.

Unless you are an essential business in NJ you are closed. If you are a restaurant you are closed unless you can do take-out or delivery. Schools and universities are closed, some till the end of the school year. New Jersey has a stay at home order in place where you are only able to go outside under certain conditions. We are all now required to wear a face mask when we are out in public.

I have not ventured out much except to take my dog to the vet and pick up dog food. I order food from Tractor Supply shop, they bring your order out to your car and put it in the trunk. My dog had surgery in late March and needs to have her calcium checked weekly until it levels off. Even how those short tech visits are handled has changed. We are all adjusting to how things are done.

My county, Mercer County,  as of 4/25/2020 has 3,245 cases and 183 deaths. My borough now has a total of 92 cases. At the same time there are more testing centers for those exhibiting symptoms. In most cases a doctors referral / script is needed to have the test done. 

It is difficult reading the stories of the people whose lives are taken because of the coronoavirus. Some are older with chronic conditions but others are young and up to that point healthy. A Brother I taught with passed away and many friends have family sick at home or in the hospital trying to overcome this virus. It is tragic to not be able to say goodbye to your loved one except through Facetime , nor gather with family to have funeral services or celebrate your loved one.

But there are also times of joy. My church, St Anthony of Padua provided food to over 1000 families this afternoon during a drive up event. Neighbors are shopping for neighbors.

There is also the work being conducted by researchers to give us hope . Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ are conducting a randomized clinical trial to once and for all answer the question if  the combination of hydroxycloroquine and the antibiotic azithromicin is effective against Covid-19.

Other researchers at Rutgers RUCDR Infinite Biologics received an emergency use authorization for a saliva collection method to determine Covid-19 without using swabs in the nose. All that is good news.

I am happy to be able to take part in Zoom meetings with my support group at Cancer Support Community of Central NJ and the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ. My neighbor is providing yoga classes on Facebook Messenger. This month's #gyncsm chat was an Open Mic on Covid-19 with guests from the SGO Covid-19 Task Force sharing information and answering patient questions. 

We may have a long way to go but we are making it work.

Take care & Stay Safe

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!