Corona Virus Craze

This first three months of 2020 have been anything but normal...where to begin?

January - Started working at Block Advisors for 2020 tax season.
January - ER visit revealed a 11 mm kidney stone.
January - Sarah leave for boot camp.
February - Gatlin has lumbar puncture and chemo at hospital, Aunt Sherry went too.
February - surgery to remove kidney stone.
February - Army cancelled Family Day and Graduation for Sarah's boot camp.
February - COVID-19 quarantine.  Mass paranoia. Stores are empty.
March - Poppy passed away.
April - 2nd kidney stone surgery.

A very serious virus called Coronavirus or COVID-19...it has cause so much chaos in the world!!
Public pandemic is a real thing and I never thought I see it in my lifetime.  This is something that happened in the past, like 1918...

The government has force businesses, restaurants, department stores, nail salons, etc...to close their doors to help stop the spread of this horrible virus.  The elderly, people with weak immune systems or respiratory issues are at high risk.  The virus attacks the  respiratory system and many people have to be placed on ventilators, many have not survived.  Not only are businesses closed, but there is a "shelter in place" order in affect...unless your job is deemed "essential" business you are to stay at home, in your home and not go anywhere.  Please are hording toilet paper, meat, eggs etc...mass buying, panic buying!!!  It is the craziest thing I have ever seen.  The store shelves are empty, no paper products available.  It is so strange to walk into the local grocery store and see empty shelves day after day.  Stores are beginning to enforce two item limits; like only two packages of TP can be bought at a time.  Hand sanitizer is non existent, cleaners, soaps, disinfectant wipes are all gone.
Craziness shear craziness!!

We are all so very sad and upset we cannot attend Family Day or Graduation for Sarah's boot camp, she has worked so and was looking so forward to having us all there to celebration graduation and her birthday, which were the same day.  So unfair everything COVID-19 has robbed us of.  My heart is so sad and hurting for my beautiful daughter, all she talked about for months before going to boot camp was how emotional and beautiful graduation was, we watch video after video of different graduations...she was so excited.  It was all been ripped away. 

The economical impact is going to be huge, so many people forced to leave jobs to help stop the spread of the virus, dentist office are not seeing patience except for emergencies.  Concerts, graduations, weddings, even funerals are all shut down.  So very sad, if I wasn't witnessing it first hand I would not fully understand or believe all that is happening.  Currently the country is under strict "stay at home" orders.  Restaurants are closed except for take out or drive thru services...no dining in...this industry is being hit really hard.  Basically the only stores open are grocery stores, Dollar Stores, Dollar Tree, gas stations.  These are all deemed "essential".   

I understand doing all we can to stop the spread, I really do...but I do believe some of this craze is to the extreme!!  Oh well...

Thursday, March 5, 2020 our beloved step dad aka Poppy was finally at peace and free of the cancer he'd battled for 12 years.  Sunday he took a turn for the worse, he was taken the hospice unit at Baylor Scott & White (formal All Saints) hospital.  I followed the ambulance to the hospital and spent the entire in the ER waiting for the hospice people to come so I could complete the paperwork.  At 5:30a they finally got him in a room.  I sat with him every day for hours and talked to him, he was incoherent and unconscious, but I talked any way.  He was so good to me and my girls, so giving, so loving, so patient and generous to a fault.  We loved him dearly.  RIP Poppy.

The hardest part, was having to send Sarah a message at boot camp that her Poppy had passed away.  She was allowed to call and she called me.  We talked for a few minutes and I told we would not have the service until she got home, Uncle Boo wanted him and her to be in dress uniform to honor Poppy, he will be memorialized with full military honor and his flag will be presented to Sarah.

A bright spot in all this mess, I found an amazing church.  Open Door in Burleson is amazing and the pastor is incredible.  

So much more to write, but will have to finish another day.

Keeping it real!!