I tend to overreact. I’ve even been accused of exaggerating. I find a thrill in impending storms and even secretly look forward to being trapped at home for a couple of days with only puzzles, old movies and leftovers. At first, I found the COVID-19 scare oddly exciting. There’s something about a shared fear which promotes conversation with EVERYONE – friends, family, the person behind you in line at Target, the Uber driver, the mail carrier. Us again nature. And, there’s something thrilling for me to walk into the grocery store and find empty shelves.

Then our trip to Florence got cancelled. 

Anna and I were meeting another mother/daughter pair in Florence — dear friends and the daughter was studying in Florence for the semester. We’d planned this trip for months and were really looking forward to an adventure with a girl we’ve known since diaper-days as our tour-guide. I got a little concerned as the news about COVID-19 started coming out, but I didn’t need to be the worrier who demanded we cancel the trip – she was sent home. All the university students studying abroad in Italy were sent home. And then all the schools in Italy closed. We tried to stay positive and modified our trip — a road trip to Hilton Head to see our friend’s brother and family. We traded wine tours and cooking classes in Tuscany to drinking beer and eating burgers, while listening to live music. No problem — our foursome would still have a ball.

Now, I’m not sure THAT trip is going to happen.

Every time I turn on the news there’s more information about COVID-19. More cases, more deaths, more schools/office closings.

I keep washing my hands and preparing. I haven’t gone crazy, but I do have previsions for a couple of weeks and I’m starting to think that we may actually need them. I’m assuming at some point Jack’s school will close and Hopkins is considering extending spring break for a couple of weeks. Dan’s office has discussed contingency plans and even South by Southwest has been cancelled – I wasn’t planning on going, but that news seemed to make it all super real for me.

I understand that COVID-19 can effect people in a variety of ways and that 80% of people seem to skate through with minimal symptoms, but we are a family that has seen the worst case senecio more than once.

We live every day the way the “typical” public is living today. Worried, preparing, constantly thinking “what if”. Germs have been our enemy for 13 years. Simple stomach bugs and fevers land us in the hospital quickly. So, I’m worried about Dan on the train and the subway in NYC. I’m worried that I won’t be able to get extra bottles of Keppra and Hydrocortisone for Jack in case we can’t leave the house. And, I’m worried about, not just Jack getting sick with COVID-19, but all the other reasons Jack might need medical attention and he can’t get it, because now there’s a clog in the system.

I am not freaking out. Promise. I’m just sharing my perspective as a mother of a “medically fragile person”. I just asked Jack’s buddy, Peter, to plan on watching a movie in Jack’s room and not a theater, but I’m not wearing a mask around or hiding at home. Tonight Dan and I are heading out to celebrate our brother-in-law’s birthday. We are leaving Jack in capable hands and won’t spend much time thinking about COVID-19. BUT, if I hear anyone cough, I will be hopping back into the car in record time.

Stay well and wash your hands!

Love, Jess