One Year Later

Early PPE standards

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the start of my part time post-retirement job. I began what was supposed to be a two-day-a-week, 9 month contract position the week before March break 2020. 

March break travel was the catalyst for a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Canada. The first critically ill patients were admitted and March marked the first death at our hospital, a local man in his mid-40s. Personal protective equipment became scarce and infection control best practices were not yet established. People were panic buying toilet paper, cleaning products and food items at stores. It is easy to look back and criticize the initial response to the pandemic but there was so much conflicting advice on how to prevent spread. This pandemic was unlike SARS or recent influenza epidemics where spread was self-limiting. Medical treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients has improved greatly in the past year and survival rates are improving from my observations. Vaccine programs are ramping up and we can look forward to the return of some normalcy later this year. 

I have mentioned the intial fear I experienced working in a COVID environment, a fear that has now been replaced with a healthy respect for the virus. Fear has been an overwhelming emotion for many people. 

...fear of illness, job loss, business failures, isolation from loved ones, shortages of goods, vaccines, government control, lockdowns...

Fear gives birth to

...conspiracy theories, blaming others, rejection of scientific evidence and developments, religious and political tribalism...

During the second wave, one in five people in our hospital had COVID related illnesses. But patients with non-contagious lifestyle diseases use the majority of health care resources at any given time. Diseases caused by unhealthy eating, substance abuse, stress, and inactivity are preventable. In Alan Deutschman's book Change or Die, the author states that 9 out of 10 people don’t change their lifestyles or behaviors even when their lives depend upon it. And people with lifestyle diseases risk developing more severe COVID-19 symptoms if they become infected. 

This year has created a paradigm shift affecting every aspect of our lives. Change is hard, but it brings opportunity for reflection on our values and priorities. People have found creative ways to connect and work with our technological tools. We will value face to face encounters more when they are finally allowed. 

Much of what is happening in Season Two of the pandemic is beyond our individual control. But we can focus on positive personal changes that will improve our health and well-being. Eating well, exercising, cultivating meaningful relationships, dealing with stress and negative emotions in healthy ways, and re-evaluating our spiritual priorities, will bring resilience and growth in our lives.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, 

but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT