It's not very often that we, as children, fear for our parents as they head out the door each morning for work. It also isn't very often that we fear what they could be bringing home to us each night from their job either. These aren't thoughts that we would ever think that we need to be having, but since the beginning of March it seems like that is all I think about.
I have always viewed my mom as the person that I look up to. She is, and always will be, my hero. She is the person who helps patients heal and get home to their families that love them. I was never afraid that I might not be able to hug her when she got home from work, eat dinner as a family with her, or even have a simple conversation at the end of the day.
COVID-19 changed all of that, especially the way I view life now, and of course reminded me of how strong and brave my mom really is.
We all knew as a family that it was possible; she could bring it home to us and we needed to be prepared, more prepared than what most families had to be. When we would go out, we made sure to follow advisories even more carefully than most would. I was scared that I could contract COVID-19, but I was even more scared that I could give it to someone else that wouldn't be able to survive it; we all were, especially since the probability was higher. There were many nights that we distanced ourselves from each other in our own house just in case something could have been brought home, (it would have been a funny sight under normal circumstances).
The oddest part of everything was hearing how everyone was reacting to it all. We had the friends and neighbors that didn't think it was a serious problem, and proceeded to live their daily lives as normal as possible and not wanting to follow any of the protocols. The news didn't help either; it wasn't that what was being reported was incorrect, it was more that the stories were fabricated more than what was actually happening in hospitals around the country, which regardless, was still scary to think about.
It's hard having someone you love work in the medical field, with odd hours, and days and weekends not being home with their family. It's even harder worrying about them all day when we're in the middle of a global pandemic. These people are heroes at the end of the day, and deserve our praise for all that they have done these very hard past few months, and of course for everything else they do.
