
Anyone else feeling tired?
Thatâs a silly question. Of course you are. We all are. But, I do think itâs fair to recognize that some are more tired than others. COVID has affected everyone, but it has disproportionally affected a number of people. We all know the stories and heartbreak of the families that have suffered monetary loss, actual loss, and the feeling of rock bottom. We support and cry âheroâ to our healthcare professionals â as well we should! Their stories are everywhere. I canât go a day without another picture of a nurse with exhaustion written all over her face as she fights another day on the unit. I would personally argue that they are, and will continue to be, the most affected by this.
But Iâm not here to convince you of that. Iâm here to talk about another group feeling this more than others.
The high-risk families.
Iâm writing this from an unfamiliar perspective in my circles. Our position as a family doesnât follow the statistics of the condition. While this isnât a negative thing, it has made it difficult to be heard or seen as valid. Is that why Iâm writing here? To be heard? Maybe. But primarily, I want to share a new perspective.
Our 6-year-old son Dane was born at 26 weeks. Thatâs 14 weeks too early, and itâs not something that just ended after we were discharged three months later. Those three months drastically shaped his current daily life. His lungs are more fragile, his abilities hard-fought for, and every moment he breathes is another moment I thank God for the NICU. Obviously, weâre one of many. And, obviously, weâre doing much better than we could have.
Not too long ago, I tried to explain to people who were anti-mandate and anti-mask what it was like from our perspective. I chose to address the two big things Iâve read and heard:
âThe high risk should just stay home and let us live our lives!â
âThe children will suffer from lack of socialization!â
Iâm not here to convince you of anything. But take a minute and read those two statements again. Does it feel contradictory? Try it again if it didnât. OK, how about now?
For those still struggling, please let me say it more plainly.
My child is high-risk. No, Iâm not just saying that. His pediatrician has encouraged care and caution and avoidance, itâs not just âfearâ or âlack of faith.â So, that obviously means that he should stay home, right? And the rest of us, being in his immediate household, must follow suit.
But heâs also struggling with lack of socialization. And Iâve heard thatâs something we need to work on with him.
Let me spell this out for you. My child is at high risk and should stay home. My child isnât socialized enough, and he needs to socialize.
Does it make sense now? How you canât have both?
Every moment we spend arguing for freedoms that we feel have been taken from us, another family in a different situation struggles to face a simple reality.
Your freedom is treated like it matters more than their sacrifices.
We need to stop looking at this like âtheir sacrifices are what allow your freedoms.â We need to start realizing that âyour insistence on freedoms creates disproportionate sacrifices for others.â
Care, friends. Help people. Encourage those struggling mentally and physically more than you.
Maybe then, weâll see that we are all in this together. Itâs not a two-team battle. We need to support each other. And only seeing one side isnât doing that.
source https://www.programage.com/news/Please_Think_of_Us__the__High-Risk_Family__1607317220202075.html
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