Haila drew this Wednesday night. Notice the YOLO = you only live once.
We were settling back into our routine after our trip to Morocco and our week of adventure with Kayla and Greg. Then the first ball dropped.
I woke up Thursday morning and discovered a beautiful sunrise. Haila was awake, but Shawn and Aliah were still asleep. I told Haila to come outside. She grabbed her phone to take pictures and found a message from her friend Lili who was coming to visit in a week. The message said that she couldn't come because Trump stopped all flights from Europe. What?
Haila asked if I'd heard from Heather, Lili's Mom (Shawn's cousin, my beloved friend), and I told her I hadn't looked at my phone yet. I ran downstairs to grab my phone and read my messages. I had messages from Heather as well as Shawn's Mom, who was also planning to come visit in early April. Both of them said that flights from Europe to the U.S. were suspended for the next 30 days. I was shocked!
I have to be honest. I didn't know much about COVID-19 at this point. It sounded like the flu, and I didn't understand why it was causing such a stir. We don't have a television here and I wasn't reading online news, so I was completely in the dark. I texted Shawn's Mom, who is a nurse, "What's going on over there? Is there something they're not telling us? This doesn't seem that bad to warrant all this."
I did some research on the travel ban and found out that it was not for U.S. citizens, so I was encouraging both Heather and Dian (Shawn's Mom) to wait for more information. When I talked to Heather (who hadn't slept much), she told me that she would come as long as Spain was not at level 3 on the U.S. Department of State's travel advisory. I still had hope that she and her two girls could come for their Spring Break as I thought Spain was still at level 2. I was wrong. I was on the CDC's COVID-19 webpage, and it hadn't been updated yet.
That same morning, Haila texted me from school. Her friend told her that schools were considering closing and that everything in town closes when the schools close. OK!?! Shawn and I were going to the grocery store anyway, so we added some staples (rice, beans, pasta) to our list just in case everything (including grocery stores) really did close when the schools close.
Haila's friend from school texted her on Thursday night that schools were going to close on Monday for two weeks. Of course, I was skeptical. I needed some confirmation from someone/something other than a teenager. Her friend sent her a news article which confirmed that schools in all of Andalusia were closing for two weeks.
We still weren't sure what that would mean in terms of local businesses being open or closed, so Shawn and I went back to the grocery store on Friday with a menu plan. We saw some friends there and asked if they knew if stores would be open once schools were closed, and they didn't even know the schools were closing. Not knowing what exactly was happening, we made sure we had enough food to get through two weeks just in case everything in town really did close.
I started doing research on COVID-19 and came across an article from Madison explaining why so many events were being cancelled. That was the first time I heard the words "flatten the curve". I then got a text message from Aliah's school: "We must be clear that the suspension of classes does not mean vacations. It is done so that each person assumes his civic responsibility and limits, to the maximum, his activities and those of his children outside their homes. (...) So please be aware, be responsible. Health resources are what they are and hospital staff across the country are leaving their skin. As citizens, we must assume our responsibility to alleviate this crisis. Minimizing contagion is up to all of us." In other words, stay home to slow the spread.
We decided to order take-out pizza for dinner Friday night assuming the pizza place was closing soon. Shawn went to place the order. Papa Miguel waved him down as he was walking past. When Shawn got home, he said he thought Papa was saying that everything was closing at 8 PM (Papa doesn't speak any English, so this was Shawn's interpretation of his hand gestures and the word ocho). I told him to take Haila back and find out for sure what was happening. It's very odd to be in a country going through a crisis when you don't speak the language.
While Shawn and Haila were gone, I jumped on the internet. I discovered the Spanish Prime Minister was going to declare a state of emergency. When Haila and Shawn returned, they said Papa was telling us that the restaurants were closing at 8 PM on Friday and would remain closed. He said the grocery stores would remain open. Well, that was good news.
That night (March 13th), I got a text about COVID-19 from another Mom in Alozaina. DISCLAIMER: This is a very long message that I have not fact checked. I copied it exactly as I received it. Feel free to skip past this. I included it as it caused an awakening for me about the seriousness of the situation at hand. It said, "Let's see, friends, I'm going to try to explain the situation we have with this pandemic. Public opinion is not aware because the un(re)presentatives of this Government, who know the truth, have hidden it from the general population for a month. I have the information that I am going to transmit to you through medical colleagues that I have throughout Spain, who have been alarming this for weeks and for having access to scientific information. I do not want to alarm anyone, we are all adults and each one will decide what to do, but I cannot let my friends make decisions regarding such an important issue knowing that they do not have all the information. We start. Why is COVID-19 extremely dangerous? What determines the danger of an infectious agent is the combination of 3 factors: the vector of contagion, morbidity and mortality. COVID-19 has a contagion vector between 1.5 and 2.5, that is, 3 times higher than influenza. Which implies that its spread is geometric: 1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128-256 ... but worst of all, unlike influenza and SARS, which was the last 2003 coronavirus epidemic, this is also spread during the two weeks of incubation, before even having symptoms. As for the morbi-mortality, it is as follows. One thing must be clear: WE ARE ALL GOING TO BE INFECTED BY COVID-19 in the next three months. Now, of every 1000 people, 900 will pass it asymptomatically, including children and young people. 100 will show symptoms. Of those 100, 80 will pass it like a very screwed up flu: dry cough, headache and muscle, that is, two or three weeks at home worse than a dog. Of the remaining 20, 15 will develop bilateral pneumonia with difficulty breathing, which will require hospital admission to administer bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and oxygen. The remaining 5 will develop pulmonary fibrosis that will require immediate admission to the ICU with assisted breathing. Of those 5, 3 will die. And the two that are saved will present sequels that will possibly force a lung transplant. These are the figures that are currently handled in the western scientific community, since the data in China has been worse, but because its health is not so prepared. Seen like that it doesn't seem that serious, does it? The problem is that, unlike the flu, to which a part of the population is vaccinated and also attacks progressively throughout 5 months of the year, this infection is a wave (See Italy) So that in two-three months all infections will occur. So we already have the data to do the math. Of the 40 million Spaniards, only 4 million will have symptoms. Of which 3,200,000 will have a bad flu at home. 600,000 will need hospital admission with oxygen. And 200,000 will need ICU. The problem is that in Spain there are only 200,000 hospital beds and 3,800 ICU beds between the public and private health systems. Do you see the problem? The real problem is not the disease itself, despite the fact that it has a significant morbidity and mortality, but, due to its epidemiological characteristics, it comes in a wave infecting a whole population that has no previous immunity in a matter of 2-3 months, COLLAPSING THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM ... !!!! This means that when hospital beds and ICUs are full, it will be necessary to apply what is known as War Medicine, that is, when for each bed that is free there are 7 people waiting, the professionals will have to decide who they already attend who are sent home saying that they will send them a doctor and an oxygen cylinder, which will never come because they will also be finished. That decision will be made based on age and general condition. That is, the youngest will be chosen, who will have a better chance of survival. This without counting the rest of serious and urgent pathologies: heart attacks, strokes, traffic accidents, etc. all this without beds and without ICU. This looks like a science fiction movie, but this is happening RIGHT NOW in northern Italy. Country that two weeks ago was like us now, let us not forget. Healthcare in Madrid has already collapsed. They are telling the population that if they have symptoms, do not go to hospitals or health centers or call 112, but call 900 102 112. There are people who have been calling all morning and cannot get their phone picked up . It is expected that, at the rate it is spreading, Spanish Health will collapse in early April. This is the situation. What to do then? Let's see, this is a lottery, it is difficult for you to touch, but the more tickets you buy, the more possibilities you have. Therefore, what you have to do is NOT BUY BALLOTS. In other words, for the next few weeks, go exclusively to work and buy from the supermarket when necessary. Do not eat outside, do not go to any gathering of people, do not use public transport. It will only be a few weeks. You may be wondering: if we are all going to take it, why isolate ourselves so much? As you will see, whether a person suffers the disease asymptomatically, such as the flu or needs hospital admission, depends fundamentally on the age and immune status of the patient. But also of a concept called "viral load", that is, the number of millions of viruses that have entered our body at the time of infection. The higher that viral load, the more damage the virus can do to our lungs as our defenses organize and make the antibodies to defend themselves. Obviously it is not the same to kiss an infected person, directly breathe droplets of pflügge from an infected person or touch an object where those droplets have fallen 3 hours ago and then touch our faces. Then we will try that, when we get infected, the viral load is as low as possible. That is why it is recommended not to attend meetings of people or public places. (...) I feel the beating that I have given you, I hope I am wrong and that things are contained from now on that mitigation and social isolation measures are being implemented, but I have already remained calm because I have told you the truth of the situation that I have not heard said in any media, only in specialized forums. Now everyone does what he sees fit."
This felt like an ominous warning... like this was a really big deal. I started to learn more. Infected people are contagious for up to two weeks before they have any symptoms, if any. Kids are often asymptomatic but contagious for weeks. The elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are most at risk, but viral load plays a role as well. Health care providers have died because of their overexposure. In a community where grandkids see their grandparents daily, it made sense that schools were closing.
Well, now that we can't leave the house, we might as well play some Uno on the balcony.
We started homeschooling on Monday morning. Haila is self-sufficient and can get through her work with minimal assistance, if any. Aliah is in a different boat altogether. I have to translate the lesson plans from her teacher ahead of time so we know what to do. Then I have to translate the pages so I can teach the lessons, and then she has to translate back to Spanish to complete the work. It is tedious and frustrating for both of us, and there are generally tears involved. Needless to say, Aliah is really missing her teacher.
Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day. Aliah got busy creating a sign right away that morning. She hung it on the wall when she finished. So cute! Then it was time for "school".
By Wednesday, Aliah was hitting the "white wine" before 4 PM. Notice, she's still in her jammies too. Where is the parental supervision?
Well, the parents are teaching their kids useful things... like how to play euchre.
Thursday, March 19th was the first day of Spring. Fun fact: this was the earliest first day of Spring in 124 years. It was also the day that the U.S. issued a Global Level 4 health advisory telling U.S. citizens to avoid ALL international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In addition, U.S. citizens living abroad were told to avoid international travel.
Friends and family started asking if we were considering coming home. I had already started tracking COVID-19 data for China, Italy, Spain and the U.S. (If you know me well, you would have expected this.) It looks like it took China 6 weeks to hit it's peak and another 4 weeks for things to really slow down. I estimated Spain would hit it's peak the last week of March, and Wisconsin would hit it's peak the last week of April. By this point, Wisconsin had already closed schools indefinitely. If my calculations are right, we'll be done with quarantine sooner if we stay. Plus, flights were few and expensive and the lines to get through customs were insane. Our landlord had already told us that we could stay as long as necessary, and our village is small and the residents supremely compliant to our restrictions. My thoughts were... why put ourselves in harm's way needlessly? I truly believe God has us here right now for a reason, and I'm trusting Him to see us through. If I'm wrong, I know He'll be here to pick up the pieces.
On Friday, Aliah and I powered through her school work and were done by 1 PM. This gave me time to head to the store for a few things. On my walk to the store, I noticed bags of groceries hanging from a doorknob. I have always been impressed by the kindness of this community we're living in, and I am not surprised by this... but it still touched my heart enough to turn around and take a photo.
On my way home, I saw the streets being disinfected. We had learned the day before that they were going to start doing this regularly. We have since seen them come down our street, spraying disinfectant. I had seen pictures of this being done in other countries. It was a bit surreal to see it being done right outside our front door.
Friday evening was supposed to peak with a reunion. We spent Spring Break 2019 in Mexico with Heather, York and their girls last year, and Heather and the girls were supposed to come to Spain for their Spring Break this year. They had been scheduled to land in Malaga at 9 PM on Friday, March 20th. All of us had been looking forward to spending the week together visiting Granada, Seville, and Ronda before returning to Alozaina for a few days together at home. Instead, we were snuggled up on the loveseat (because we don't have a couch) watching a movie.
That's become our new evening norm... dinner and a movie. Right now, we are working our way through the Harry Potter movies on Netflix.
Haila and I spent much of Saturday catching up on her U.S. math homework. She is keeping up with that as she's in an accelerated program and doesn't want to be behind when she goes back to school in the Fall.
More than a week of homeschool and lockdown under our belt, and we're all still speaking to each other. I consider that success! But who knows what tomorrow will bring? Only time will tell.
The lyrics to a classic 1970's song keep running through my mind:
One day at a time, sweet Jesus.
That's all I'm asking of you.
Just give me the strength
to do everyday what I need to do.
I pray He does the same for you! Godspeed everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment