Re: Covid and Grief...

Maryann at MiniV · Jul 9, 2020

This morning I got a call from one of our grown foster daughters. She is married, has a 1 yr old son. Her husband's parents (who we have been friends with) had gone down to Calif. to visit family. Linda, her mother in-law came home early and shortly after became ill.... In the mean time the rest of the Calif. family became ill too and ended up testing positive for the Virus. Katie's husband, James, dropped in to check on his mom and found her dead yesterday afternoon.

This has hit us all like a ton of bricks. Linda was my age (63), and healthy! Jame's dad is stuck in CA and can't come home for 2 weeks!!! I'm not sure how my husband and I can help.... Katie said that she wanted to make us even MORE like grandparents than before...... so I think we'll be babysitting..... Not sure why I'm sharing this, except we all thought this Covid thing was only in highly populated areas. Our county has only had a TOTAL of 15 tested positive. Linda will be the first death.

MerMaeve · Jul 9, 2020

I'm so sorry for your loss, Maryann!

Pitter Patter · Jul 9, 2020

Maryann at MiniV said:
This morning I got a call from one of our grown foster daughters. She is married, has a 1 yr old son. Her husband's parents (who we have been friends with) had gone down to Calif. to visit family. Linda, her mother in-law came home early and shortly after became ill.... In the mean time the rest of the Calif. family became ill too and ended up testing positive for the Virus. Katie's husband, James, dropped in to check on his mom and found her dead yesterday afternoon.

This has hit us all like a ton of bricks. Linda was my age (63), and healthy! Jame's dad is stuck in CA and can't come home for 2 weeks!!! I'm not sure how my husband and I can help.... Katie said that she wanted to make us even MORE like grandparents than before...... so I think we'll be babysitting..... Not sure why I'm sharing this, except we all thought this Covid thing was only in highly populated areas. Our county has only had a TOTAL of 15 tested positive. Linda will be the first death.

I am so sorry for your loss. I work in a large county owned nursing home in a rural area. We have prepared ourselves that if any one of our resident's get COVID, there will be at least a 50% loss of our residents within a couple of weeks. Terrifying! If I want to keep my job, I have to wear a mask every time I am in public, Immediate termination if found without it. Families not allowed to see residents unless actively dying. So many people are so angry with us for not letting them in and don't believe the virus is real. I live in a real tourist hub and our governor had shut down the state until recently, when she opened up Northern Michigan under pressure. Our rates of COVID have tripled in less than 3 weeks. People are coming up here in droves with their campers, tents, boats, canoes, etc. to escape the virus downstate but have brought it with them. Now our staff will have to get tested every week. It's a terrible situation and way too many people have died that were otherwise healthy. We all need to take care of ourselves and each other, whatever our politics or view points! A couple of our residents were born during and just after the 1918 flu pandemic. They offer interesting insight...they did social distancing back then too, but say this will eventually pass IF everyone cooperates. My 3rd great grandmother died during that pandemic. I can't even imaging losing a loved one in this way. I am so sorry you lost Linda and pray that your daughter's family can heal their hearts (and yours!).

Maryann at MiniV · Jul 10, 2020

Thank you Pitter Patter. You are experiencing this virus much differently than many. I don't envy you.

Willow Flats · Jul 11, 2020

Maryann, I'm just now reading this. I am so sorry for your loss. Praying for comfort for all of your family members and for physical healing for those who have tested positive for the virus.
A very sobering reminder for all of us to keep wearing our masks even if it is uncomfortable.