Amidst rising fears in our country about the upsurge of another wave of Covid-19 and the Omnicron Variant, there is ongoing talk of reinstating social distancing precautions, mask mandates, and mandatory vaccines. School districts all around us are going back to virtual learning. The wide range of people that support the government requiring people to take this illness more seriously is unprecedented. It crosses every social, economic, and racial barrier.
There is also some despondency in many people who feel they are willing to take a chance with the virus and their own health. Claims that range from ‘my immune system was designed to fight illness’ to ‘the government has no right to force us to receive medical treatment we don’t desire’. Many people passionately feel the government is infringing on their rights to free choice.
Either side can be considered 100% right or in the eyes of the other side---DEAD wrong!
As a mom to a young cancer patient, I see where the fear of an immune compromised person catching Covid is a very real dilemma. The drugs given to destroy the cancer also suppress any God-given immune system the body has. The life of an immune compromised person consists of masks, isolation, hand sanitizer, blood counts, and constant vigilance about germs. The families of the immunocompromised know the risks all too well without the government requiring them to be careful. They have to live the life of the careful—every single day! Covid did not change their lives very much, other than making it extremely hard to find medical supplies and increasing their isolation.
As a mom to a young cancer patient who has now passed away, I see where the desire to live life to the fullest and take responsibility for my own health decisions can come into play. Our family spent so much time isolated from those most important to us. Our daughter missed out on time with her siblings and grandparents because of Covid mandates put in place by well-meaning but uninformed individuals. I missed out on important moments in my daughter’s life. My last Mother’s Day was spent weeping over not being allowed to go to the hospital and hold my baby. She died and there will never be another Mother’s Day spent together. I was only given 4—Covid stole one of those.
The life of Covid and Cancer is heartbreakingly similar in so many ways. People are trying to make the best decisions they know how, through the lens of their own fears and concerns. In such a delicate balance, there may not be a one size fits all answer. What works for some people’s physical safety, destroys others mental health. What relieves some peoples fear, only heightens the anxiety of others. What ensures a longer life for some, steals the only days remaining for the terminally ill. For children who have had a life stolen by cancer treatments, Covid only adds insult to their injury.
I think to the many things that cancer inflicted on Millie during her year of treatment. Pain from pokes, bone marrow aspirations, nerves being aflame from the strong immunotherapies, nausea from the harsh chemo, and so much fear.
I also remember what Covid did in her short lifetime. The many times she had a nose swab just to be admitted to the hospital. I can still hear her little voice saying, “You gonna do that nose thing?” It kept family and friends from visiting her. She was confined to her hospital room during every admission. To live the remainder of Millie’s life during a pandemic was so difficult. I know many families who have lost their loved ones during the last two years have similar feelings.
We know we can never go back, but how I long for the time a few years ago, on a hot summer day, when Cancer and Covid had not yet turned our lives and the world upside down. A time when my little blond curly headed two-year-old was playing on the swing under the shade of our tree. When our family was whole, healthy, and happy. All of that longing for the past, makes me long even more for the future in heaven. A time when we will be together, healthy, and happy forever.
“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.” 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟑:𝟐𝟎
***𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙪𝙨, 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙫𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮. 𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣. ***
Blessings sweet friends…
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
I still believe in Millie’s Miracle
｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ Hebrews 11:1 ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
︵‿︵‿୨☆୧‿︵‿︵
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