By the time you read the message I have written today, it will be out of date.
It is March 26, 2020, and numbers of COVID-19 infections and even deaths have been increasing and are continuing to rise. These are unprecedented times never before seen in our lifetime. Our ability to maintain social distancing will hopefully slow the spread, but for many, the stay-at-home orders have come too late. At present, there have been more than 450,000 cases worldwide and 22,000 deaths. Testing has shown that some of those with positive results may not have symptoms.
There is no definitive knowledge about how to treat or avoid infection, or about how to make the make the infection self-limiting. To use hydroxychloroquine or not? Is having a play date with my child and my neighbor's child ok or not? When winter passes and the spring sunlight appears again, will the ultraviolet light kill the virus and thus end the spread of infection? So much about the virus is unknown and what we do know hasn't seemed to change the course of this pandemic in the dramatic ways necessary to curb the spread. Worldwide, we have a serious concern.
But what about everyone staying home. How are you doing? How is your business doing? How is your family doing? Each day I present myself to the hospital ready to do what I do every day, but with a new sense of concern and worry. I got my temperature taken today and am wearing a sticker that shows I am approved to work at the hospital. Like many, my children are unable to attend school, thus we are burdened with having to find a trustworthy person to care for them. We are all enduring stress and concerns about topics we have never before considered.
I don't know where we all will be when you read this message, but I do know we that should all be together (at least 6 ft away of course), supporting each another, reaching out to one another, and making time to check in with those who may be hit the hardest by the demands placed upon us by this pandemic.
Amanda Bailey, MSN, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN, ISPAN-F
ISPAN President