Day 61 of coronavirus in France
Day 10 of enforced confinement
Our choices are not our own.
“I’m at Henri Ey Hospital, Paris 13ème, volunteering to help the cause of COVID 19. There are too many needs, too many sick people. I’m weeping. It’s so sad. Stay home.”
— Mickaël
Mickaël works at a psychiatric hospital. He is the furthest thing from an alarmist. Hospital direction are requesting that all staff begin sleeping at the hospital. They can no longer take the risk of staff bringing the contagion into their delicate ecosystem. Last week the government had already volunteered to pay taxis for healthcare professionals so that they don’t have to take public transportation, but there are genuine concerns about them seeing their family in the evenings.
Every member of his family is in a position that they must still be active. His wife is a schoolteacher and even though the students are doing their work from home, she still has to take public transportation to go into work every day to answer their emails and calls and tailor her lesson plans according to their progress. Since both parents have essential jobs their son and daughter take refuge in their school with a handful of others in the same position.
Many of us have ideas of where we would rather be or how we would rather be spending our time. But it is no longer we who live.
We are learning how to bring light and hope from a distance. Today I sent out dozens of emails to check up on some people I haven’t seen in a while. You are on my heart. You are not forgotten. You are loved.
- Do you have people in your life you can count on?
- Does your personal relationship with God sustain you in difficult days?
- Do you receive the support and resources you need from your community?
- Are you connected to your purpose in life?
- Are you able to organize your time to focus on the essentials?
- Can you count on the people in your church to pray for you?
- Would you like to connect to a virtual church community through video calls and social media?
- Would you like to find out how you can volunteer or donate to help members of your community?
- Would you like to clarify God’s will for you?
- Would you like to learn how to help those around you manage their stress and emotions during this time?
—UPDATE— Valerie doesn’t have to go in to work anymore. Teachers can answer parent’s questions from home. Praise the Lord.
—UPDATE— Mickaël does not need to sleep at the hospital. He is working extra hours though, 8 am to 8 pm today.
—UPDATE— Fourteen days after beginning enforced containment all of the people who had exposure will either have built up anti-bodies or be aware that they are sick and fighting it. New hospitals are opening up in conferences centers around the region in preparation for the tsunami of new cases should hit today and the next couple of days. Now is not the time to do shopping. We have enough supplies to not leave the house for 14 days.