Life's Too Short: The New Flu

I left Dixon for a brief stint of watching grandchildren while their parents travelled out of state to a wedding. We were moving ahead with the usual running amuck that adults normally do with small children such as half days at school, forgetting the backpack, eating fattening bagels, and of course, cleaning, laundry, and more cleaning when all of a sudden, I get a call from a family member very concerned about Corona virus (originally called the Wujan Flu and now called COVID-19.)

Apparently all crazy broke loose while I was not tuned into television, newspapers, or cell phone. Apparently while I was busy helping to raise two adorable children, China shut down and half of Italy died. I’m not being funny but the resulting hysteria is typical and I admit, largely due to my profession seeking to be first on the news.

Fortunately, I had already read everything I could get my hands to find out what was going on in the world and the nation and with scientific evidence because I knew one of my grandsons is an at-risk little person due to a serious virus that went around—and not to any comparable fanfare as to what I’m seeing now—two years ago damaging his lungs and giving him asthma.

This is how I consoled the family member: First, I listened empathetically and did reflective listening. I thought quietly and after a moment , these words came:

"I am 63 and have experienced so many ‘end-of-the-times-as-we-know-it’ crises. The first I lived through as a youth was the London Flu. It was awful and everyone in the family got it but one. My older sister took care of us all for five days.

As a young driver, it was the gas shortage resulting in mile-long lines and the fear that no one would get groceries because the truckers did not have enough gas to get deliveries made.

This won’t be in order but I have lived through oil shortages, Nuclear threats, September 11, power grid black outs threatening half the country, and I remember when we turned our computers on the morning of New Years in 2000, we were all going to have our bank accounts frozen because computers were not going to recognize the new date. There was the Asian Flu, Bird Flu, Swine Flu and Mad Cow Disease. We have also seen the stock market crash several times (but, if you leave your money where you have it, it almost certainly regains any losses.)

Due to heavy traffic on Interstate 80, I’ve faced fears. Besides, I have raised my children with a strong faith, done one I can for my community, and wrote a will so if it is my time to go, I’m ready to meet Jesus in person. I'm not afraid and half the nation most likely isn't afraid either because we know Americans are resilient people and we always bounce back.

There is half the US my age or older—about 125 million--who are familiar with crisis. American population just recently passed the 300 million mark and studies show that because of medical discoveries and research and the baby boomer generation, 50% of Americans are over 50. We need to be doing the right thing, of course, with washing our hands and staying home when you’re sick and don’t visit the elderly or the at-risk for now but please try not to feel panic."

My words seemed to console so I offer them here to you.

I find it crazy that we hit this hysterical mark only because the National Basketball Association cancelled its games and movie stars Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are quarantined with the Corona Virus during their vacation in Australia. I’ve read a couple first person accounts of getting this flu, which sounds very similar to the one I wrote about a few years ago. Here was that column after I came out of that fog…

(From Life’s Too Short 2013 archives)

After experiencing a couple days down with the flu, and after trudging downstairs for starting my day, I came across a pair of large dumb bells in our office, just as I was reaching to open the windows and let the morning in. I stared down at them while the cat sauntered nearby heading toward her scratching pole. I became very aware that while I was laying upstairs in bed for two days with fever and a strong desire to go to Heaven, my husband had been perfectly well.

I recalled somewhere in my foggy pre-flu memory, that we had discussed the need to join a club or get more serious about work outs.

“Oh yeah, those are his old weights,” I suddenly got clear on what I was staring at. Suddenly my brow furrowed--probably due to the fact that I quickly calculated how many days it was going to take me to return to some bit of normal movement.

“Well,” I thought grudgingly, “I’ll go lift the cat.”

I now know why people go to health clubs. It isn’t that I didn’t go to them myself but they were always considered optional for health as my career field lent itself to running, running, going, going and rarely did I ever sit. I also had a career that was more flexible so during the day, I could enjoy the benefits of racquetball, tennis, or swimming with my children and it felt more like we were playing.

But now that the 8 am to 5 pm office routine is happening, I am going to have to work out. We are moving into the ‘not-an-option’ mode. I write and research at my desk all day and don’t move. Hubby says I need to lift weights to build muscle. I’m sure he’s right.

So I sat with my cat and a good cup of instant Folgers with the unhealthiest Hazelnut Creamer and did nothing. The woman who would only drink green tea, water, or Starbucks is getting slack. I decided it would be better not to make decisions until I was completely well.

So once I was dressed for work, I packed my usual healthy salad then noticed there were two boxes of chocolates trying to hide from me in the corner of a cupboard. I packed them for lunch and decided if I made a decision to get healthier before I ate them, I’d put them out for my office colleagues instead.

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Debra Dingman, journalist and author is a 27-year Dixon resident. Her book Learning A+ Living, Adventures & Rewards of a Mom Entrepreneur, is published by WestBow Press and is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and on TWMpublicrelations.com.