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Covid-19, it’s time you DO ONE!!!

Covid-19, it’s time you DO ONE!!!

I realise Firefly is a big company, so has a far reaching reader base that may be all around the world.

So I should probably explain first that “do one” is not a good thing, and essentially means it should GO AWAY.

In my little part of the world, we have had one lockdown which went from the end of March to the start of July basically.

Since then, we’ve had the “rule of six” that restricted how many people could meet in your household and then a “circuit breaker” that extended the halloween school break by an extra week but was four weeks in total for hospitality etc.

We’re all still waiting for the powers that be to decide whether or not certain industries can reopen.

At the beginning, I remember standing outside our front door clapping and cheering for our NHS staff on the frontline as well as all the “private sector” healthcare workers who were risking their own and their family’s safety to ensure the most vulnerable members of our community were helped when needed.

How do things look now, eight months later? Horrific, truth be told.

I have seen some absolutely vile comments on BBC news social media pages as well as people's own status updates and keyboard warriors in Facebook groups.

As someone who was medically shielding due to being “clinically vulnerable” myself thanks to an MS immunosuppressant therapy I’d taken, and also a mummy to a little boy with complex medical needs...all of these comments hurt.

Not only that, they make me so angry as a former nurse myself.

I’ve been speaking to a friend who used to be one of my fantastic healthcare support staff when I was a senior nurse before I had my triplets.

She has since trained to be a nurse and works in our regional ICU centre.

If anyone has seen the pics, the “uniform/PPE” (or armor, more like) that these staff are expected to wear is heavy, hot and incredibly uncomfortable.

She continues to look after the sickest people in the country and has seen such a mighty shift herself in public attitude towards these healthcare heroes.

I was genuinely horrified to hear that she was both verbally and physically assaulted when trying to stop someone entering ICU without a mask.

Really? Imagine rocking up to ICU with no mask on in the first place and then having the audacity to abuse the nurse who challenges you to ensure YOUR OWN SAFETY (as well as everyone else’s).

Let’s just have a little think here.

Do people believe that prior to the coronavirus global pandemic that ICU staff sat twiddling their thumbs all day?

No. They deal with road traffic accidents, traumas, catastrophic brain injuries, multi organ failure, out of hospital cardiac arrests, post surgical complications or where high intensity of support is needed, worsening ward patients etc.

Any one of us are just an accident/illness away from needing their services.

Where are we going to go if all the staff decide enough is enough and that there are easier jobs (which, by the way, there 100% are) and walk out?!

Our son has needed three operations since this pandemic began.

One was “routine” yet we went ahead because it was also essential for his long term health.

We were only allowed one parent with him and we had to stay on the day unit ward while he went round to theatre with the team.

This was the first time I’ve not been with him when he was going under general.

As traumatic as it was, we got through it and he was none the wiser since he got to flirt with all the amazing staff who distracted him so well that he didn’t even need to be sedated to relax him.

His two operations since then have been emergency neurosurgeries for blocked shunt.

Again, I won’t lie, it was incredibly difficult to not be allowed to go with him and hold his hand as he was sent off to sleep.

We’d to do that all over again less than 24hrs later.

Please trust me when I say, I am not sitting from a position of naivety in commenting about this.

Not only did I used to be a nurse, but I have a delicate medical condition myself and am mummy to an incredible little man with complex needs.

Our healthcare staff NEED our support now more than ever to battle this deadly virus.

I know that this affects the economy and on that point of view I am fairly underqualified so I know there will be people saying it should be put first for all the “healthy” people (ummm….Ableism muchly?!).

I understand how absolutely horrendous that has been for the smaller business owners as well as families relying on the income.

Covid doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon and so the war wages on.

I absolutely beg you though to please remember...all of us are at the mercy of the healthcare system if covid hits us hard and since nobody knows what way it will affect individual people, we should all follow advice. 

You really don’t want to be the one having delayed treatment while they try to find you an ICU bed with a ventilator and a nurse trained to use it (which I’m told takes around 18months!).

So yes, government advice can be very unclear.

Common sense can also be lacking.

In saying all that, I don’t think we can go far wrong to please wash our hands well and often, wear a face covering, maintain social distancing, avoid crowded spaces where possible and maintain “bubbled” households.

If you can do all this we all have a hope of getting out of this alive and being able to tell future generations about the time the world pulled together against one of the biggest enemies yet!

Firefly Blog

Real life stories, issues and experiences of day to day life by special needs parents and
healthcare professionals.

Katrina Dorrian

Meet Our Blogger

Hi! I'm Katrina, I have 8yr old triplets; one who has spina bifida, hydrocephalus and epilepsy. I also have MS, so we've a busy (but happy) house!

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