You're probably bored of people talking about COVID-19 all the time and especially sick of people preaching their opinions like they're facts, like they've suddenly become experts in epidemiology, I certainly am. I hope this blog post won't come across that way, I just wanted to document some of my own thoughts about living through a pandemic.
For me, the pandemic has highlighted a couple of things. Firstly, it has reinforced my appreciation for everyone working in the NHS, especially in intensive care units, alongside all the other key workers. A couple of years ago one of my close family members spent weeks in an intensive care ward on a ventilator. Ever since then I've had so much admiration for the doctors and nurses who work tirelessly in such demanding settings (and that was before the additional pressure of a pandemic). Honestly, no matter how many times you see people on ventilators on the news, in TV shows or films it will never quite prepare you for seeing someone you actually know being kept alive by a machine right in front of you. I'll be forever thankful for every person who has risked their own safety to help others and kept working throughout this pandemic, especially when all we had to do was stay at home.
Second, it's made me realise just how reliant I am on others for almost everything. We obviously rely on others to provide services like transport and healthcare, to give us access to food and to maintain the infrastructure of the country. However, and perhaps more significantly, in order to stop the spread of this virus and find a longer term solution we are currently relying on collaboration between so many people, despite the enforced physical distance between us. In the past I've written about the negative aspects of social media and technology but it's definitely not all doom and gloom. After all, technology has enabled me to stay connected with family members, friends and work colleagues for the past seven weeks (which has been so important for me mentally) and I'm sure it will have a larger part to play too.
COVID-19 has impacted people's lives in a myriad of ways, some of which I can't even start to comprehend. I have no doubt there will be many questions to be answered after this is over, there will be blaming and lessons to be learned but right now I think there's something to be said for keeping the end goal in mind. As Robert Frost famously said "the only way out is through" and I hope we will find a way through this, together.
Take care and stay safe,
Laura.
Song: Times Like These by Live Lounge All Stars
