Your stories: Part 2

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/04/2020 (2159 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At a time like this, we believe it’s important to turn to our readers.

You are the ones living through this state of emergency and adapting to the challenges of COVID-19. That’s why we are launching a special experiment with this reader-generated column that allows us to share your experiences, your thoughts and your concerns about the pandemic. This is the second collection of your personal stories that will help our community come together during this historic time.

 

Chris Hearn

What the heck is going on? How on earth does a sub-microscopic virus bring the world to its knees like this? And how on earth has Winnipeg and Manitoba ended up being involved in all of this? These are the kinds of things that happen somewhere on the other side of the planet. Usually, the victims seem millions of miles away and end up just being numbers that show up somewhere beyond the headlines. Not this time.

Now, we here in the centre of Canada, isolated out on the prairies, are part of the story. It’s hit home. We are doing what so many others in the world are doing, which is waiting patiently (and not so patiently) for the risk to die down so we can go back to being less than six feet apart from each other. At the moment, we are all vulnerable, as vulnerable as those across the planet with whom we normally can’t relate. This is truly a world-wide experience.

Even though the whole world is facing this crisis, the experience isn’t completely universal. There are some areas getting hit hard and there are some groups who will feel the effects of this more than others. There is fear that once COVID-19 gets into some of the refugee camps in Syria the effects will be devastating and resources won’t be there to properly tackle the outbreak. Personally, I couldn’t imagine the position folks like that are in. Even here in Winnipeg, those who are living on the street are more vulnerable than I am. There are those even in our own community who will have unique experiences with this virus.

If we have learned anything, however, it is that this virus does not discriminate. It really doesn’t care who it infects. It’s just looking for a nice warm set of lungs to call home. It doesn’t matter if those lungs are in the body of the Prime Minister’s wife, a famous basketball star, the leader of the U.K., a prince, the lady who serves you coffee at the café or the kid down the street. A host is a host to this darn virus. We do what we can to fight against the demonic little virus. We wash our hands, we distance ourselves, we watch as our local businesses shutter, and we hope when all of this is over they will survive to open up yet again.

There is a lot of sacrifice happening right now, from people who are losing their jobs to those who have to work because they are considered essential. It’s a hard time all around, and everyone is being affected one way or another. Our lives have been altered, maybe forever. We are at the mercy of COVID-19. But, humans are resilient.

This isn’t the first time in history that something like this has happened. We’ve had pandemics in the past, and we’ve had wars, economic depressions, famines, terrorism and natural disasters (but still no zombie apocalypse). Yet, as a species, we’ve managed to survive it all. We will get through this as well. It’s just what humans do. We persevere and survive. We get through to the other side and are wiser and stronger for it. When we are able again to freely move about, we are going to appreciate it all that much more! We are going to hug harder and longer. We are going to sit at that favourite coffee shop just a little longer, milking it all and enjoying every moment just a little bit more than we ever have before.

 

Cathy Krawetz

On March 25, our first grandchild, a healthy baby boy, Lev Krawetz, was born at 3:37 a.m. at St. Boniface Hospital. The first-time parents — our son, Nick, and daughter-in-law, Natalia — and with my husband, Russ, and I were planning to share in this joyous event by visiting them in hospital but could not due to the restriction of absolutely no visitors, except for our son, the new father.

Our son has been keeping us in the loop and sending us lots of pictures of our first grandchild. We are hoping to meet our him as soon as it is safe to do so. It’s a scary time for everyone now. We hope and pray for everyone’s health and safety. Extra prayers for this worldwide storm to end.

 

Ashley D.

I’m a 36-year-old widow with an an 11-year-old son. I was working in the medical field but I was laid off a week ago. I’m OK with it because I get to be with my son while he is off school.

It’s scary for me to go out because I don’t want to get sick since I am the only parent. I am also the only income so I’m scared of not being able to pay my bills as well.

It’s really tough for my son to be away from his friends because they really helped him after he lost his dad. I really hope this gets better very soon for everyone’s sake.

 

Samantha Lucier

I have been in a long-distance relationship with a man from Arkansas. We have been travelling back and forth visiting one another for almost four years. Last February we said enough was enough and began the long (and expensive) process of obtaining my K1 Visa.

It has taken a year of waiting, a trip to Toronto for a medical exam and a trip to Montreal for an interview at the consulate, but we finally made it. March 31 was my move date.

I had planned for car trouble and weather to throw a wrench into our plans, but never in a million years did I expect a worldwide viral pandemic.

I had quit my job and sublet my apartment preparing for the move. I spent the last year tying up my Winnipeg life and planning for my new life in Arkansas, and within a few days, I had neither. I had no choice but to move back home and cram my double bed into my mom’s living room (which I am grateful for).

The consulate can suggest nothing but to “Use the visa before it expires April 21,” which we all know is too soon for things to be safe. Travel advisories, border closures, states of emergency, airline closures and the general risk of the virus have left me with nothing but a failed life plan, stress and anxiety.

 

Mike Maskell

My wife and I are both retired and have taken to going for walks on our street which is in a more rural part of Winnipeg, in South Charleswood.

The kilometre walk to our mailbox allows us to get a slower appreciation of what we normally miss when we drive our vehicles to and from shopping.

We have met neighbours (from a safe distance of course), spotted deer in a few of the yards, heard plenty of birds (including Canada Geese) and realized how much litter is left by uncaring people who frequent the area.

Of late during these afternoon walks, I have taken to bringing a garbage bag and an old ski pole to spear the offending rubbish and feel rewarded in doing a small part to make my world just bit nicer.

 

Dr. Frank Rasler

As a University of Manitoba medical school grad raised in Winnipeg, but now living and working in Atlanta, I wanted to share some hopeful thoughts during this time of stress and uncertainty.

Everyone should use this abrupt awareness of mortality from preventable diseases as a huge motivator for major change in their personal health risk behaviour. Despite the sadness and economic hardship, this must also become a time to face reality about the preventable diseases that will result from unhealthy lifestyle choices we make every day.

Look for positive steps you can take to reverse the stress and panic that comes from feeling hopeless against this crisis. Our world has suddenly changed, but being at home allows a rare opportunity to inspire healthier behaviours in exercise, a plant-based type of diet, weight reduction, smoking, substance abuse, stress management and spiritual support, and to engage your family in better health habits. The exact opposite can easily occur if you do not take specific action toward this outcome.

Instead, your new at-home behaviour might become a combination of laziness and Netflix, unhealthy snack foods, increased alcohol consumption, weight gain and depression.

 

Dannielle Burton

What is so hard for people to understand about staying home? I don’t want to hear how those staying home from their jobs must be privileged to do so, and can afford to do so. There are a lot of people working from home at this time or taking a huge pay cut in exchange for doing their part in this.

Not everyone sitting at home right now is living in the lap of luxury. Everyone is making sacrifices, or at least everyone should be trying to right now, myself and my family included. I don’t want recognition or a medal for my sacrifices, I just want to do my part to flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus.

I make these sacrifices willingly because I care about those vulnerable to this dangerous illness, but more so for the health-care workers who are already struggling and reaching out, pleading to the public for assistance.

Unless you’re there working alongside them, or went to medical school yourself, you don’t know more than them and you owe them the respect they deserve by heeding their advice. They, along with all essential-service workers, many of whom you know personally, are sacrificing by putting their lives on the line every single day for you, so why won’t you sacrifice and do your part for them?

You won’t because you selfishly believe your needs matter more than others, it’s as simple as that. This isn’t about you anymore; you don’t have the luxury of making choices to best suit your needs during a global health crisis. Life isn’t fair — get used to it. If you haven’t learned that by now, this is the time.

I’m sorry you’re going to be inconvenienced for a period of time as the real heroes try their best to save lives in a race against time. This isn’t a test — we’re already in the midst of it. We have limited time to get this under control and stop the spread, our time to act is now.

No one wants to face the stress of finances, I get that. I’ve spent many nights awake myself trying to make the numbers work, and failing miserably. But there are resources being put into place to assist you, including mortgage and car payment deferrals, government subsidies, community groups to assist in any way they can with food or supplies for those in need.

I’m going to apply for every government benefit I possibly can, and I’m going to stretch our supplies out as long as I possibly can. I’ll enjoy my family and go without certain comforts we enjoyed before this all took place. I’ll do my best to connect with the vulnerable people in my community, and to connect them with the resources available to them. With the greatest technology available at our fingertips, we can do so much of it online, all while staying at home.

Our grandparents were called to war, and faced rationing and scarcity during those times. They worried their family members and friends weren’t going to make it home, and many who contract this illness won’t make it home either.

We’re being called by our leaders and medical professionals to stay at home, not to charge into battle on the front lines. This can’t still be too hard to understand, and if it is, you’re part of the problem instead of the solution.

It’s very disheartening to see the lack of basic humanity displayed during a global crisis. What I want people to remember is that we’re all human, we’re all scared, or anxious at times, we’re all struggling (in some form or another), we’re all sacrificing (some more than others) and we’re all in this together.

The future is uncertain for all of us right now and we are all unsure of what impact it will ultimately have on us in the coming months. It can’t just be a handful of people doing their part — it needs to be everybody, together. I cannot stress this enough. This illness is new to the world. Its impact has already been devastating in so many countries.

History is being written as we speak. What legacy do we want to leave for future generations? How will they view the way we handled this outbreak? Did we come together and protect our fellow men and women, or did we give them a detailed roadmap of what not to do during a pandemic? Only time will tell.

I’ll continue to look for the helpers (as Mr. Rogers so beautifully said) and I’m hoping I can see more people helping those helpers just by staying at home.

 

Gary Wallace

Being housebound due to taking precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, I have undertaken a project I have been meaning to tackle for some time. For years, as a hobby, I have been composing music (143 pieces).

The music is almost all on tape on my tape-recorder. This downtime has given me the opportunity to prepare sheet-music for these compositions; this is a major project.

swAt the present time, I have completed 10 pieces. The musical genre is acoustic folk dealing with life experiences, nature and spiritual topics. I have released one CD, titled 34 Upton.

 

Submit your own story and read more reader submissions at wfp.to/yourstory.