It was early in December when I first learned about Corona virus. I first seen and heard it from the television when it first broke the news some seven thousand miles away, in Wuhan China. It didn’t bother me at that time as there was little information about it. And just like other medical practitioners that are immune to hearing news about other illnesses, I also shrugged the news off. Fast forward to three months, the virus was officially a pandemic and has affected the world and our country- our state is not an exception. As I write this blog, CNN reports that there are 5,473 reported cases in Florida 65 are in the Volusia county and sadly there were 70 unfortunate people who didn’t make it to recovery.
The pandemic easily altered our daily habits. What usually calm and relaxing mornings in my household are now replaced of television broadcast of cringing accounts about COVID-19. The reports of exponential growth in numbers of the people that fall ill daily makes me anxious. The past weeks are just nothing but information of uncertainties and panic. People hoard. And at work every day, the standards of practice change because the CDC guidelines rapidly change as well. It’s like a war scene where everyone is in a survival mode.
Nearly two weeks ago Bob and I decided to push through with our planned trip to Cancun despite the travel advise to cancel non-essential travels placed around the globe. I easily feel guilty for something I deliberately done. And not to sound like I am trying to justify our decision to go on the trip, we actually tried every effort to cancel our flight. It was just that the circumstances we met along the way were not favorable for us and so we bit the bullet.
On usual pleasure trips like this our goal is to see places we’ve never been or go back to the ones we liked from previous trip. This time that wasn’t the case. With a bit of guilt from traveling despite of the ban, and the paranoia of contracting Covid-19, we decided to just stay in our resort and enjoy the R&R moment we planned. Not totally detaching to reality, Bob and I took this opportunity to ponder among things we are both grateful for. One night after dinner we walked the shore and just listened to the sound of roaring waves. Because of the breeze he decided to go back to our room but I stayed and strode the beach in solitude and contemplated. I can’t believe how fast the world has changed in just few months.
As we came back from the trip we are faced with new norms. Bob is working at home which length is still to be determined. I am back with my regular schedule in the hospital with continuing twists on standards of practice. The most that struck me though is the “social distancing” and must admit, it is challenging for most to adapt. It is sad. We all don’t know when this going to end, the uncertainties make most of us scared and fearful. But two things we should constantly hold- faith and hope. Once, I came across a quote from a health educator Brandon A. Trean, “It is how we embrace the uncertainty in our lives that leads to the great transformations of our souls.”
This image I took while at a recent trip in Cancun is my own photographic representation of Social Distancing. While all the elements are far from each other, still you can admire their beauties. And though the current mood is dark, the unspoken understanding that on the horizon, there is light.
Night Photography. Cancun, Mexico March 18, 2020.