“It’s Okay to Be Afraid” Notes to Self in the Year of COVID-19

March 31, 2020, Day 22 of ‘shelter in place.’ During these times of the COVID-19 global pandemic, it is reasonable to assume that most individuals will experience some level of fear. Whether the fear is a result of self- or family-preservation, woes of the world, concerns over medical conditions or supplies, a neurological condition, mood…

Got Magnesium? Airways, Immune Function, and Overall Health

I like the letters MG. They were my initials my entire childhood and young adult years, before I married. Mg also stands for magnesium. “Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps to maintain normal nerve and muscle function, supports a healthy immune system, keeps the heartbeat steady, and…

California Dreaming on Such a Winter’s Day

March 28, 2020 I woke up this morning wanting to make a long list. Facts and findings about the world health pandemic. But even lists seem inappropriate in these times. Day twenty of not leaving home. Winded and short of breath. Propped up in bed for the long haul. Turmeric water. Ginger tea. Tea tree…

Instinctual Observation, Analysis of Data, and Knowing: The Lurking Virus

There are moments that my hyper-fast cognitive processing and ability to find patterns is a burden, particularly when I am trying to engage in a balanced and fully engaged conversation with another human being. Often times, during discussions, my mind takes me outside of the conversation into a realm of what ifs, what could be,…

We cannot definitely say someone is not infected: COVID-19 Nightmares

“We don’t have a test that can definitely say someone is not infected,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, a specialist in infectious disease and clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. (Source) I am listening to my neighbor who is standing outdoors below, outside my upstairs bedroom window, coughing his lungs out. I…

The Brain! The Brain!

  I have been housebound since March 9th, midday. The year is 2020. And there is a pandemic. I have had fear of a coming pandemic since I was four years of age; it was then that I realized what rabies was and what it did. Poor doggies. Since then, several decades have past, and…

COVID-19: Self-Inventory and Self-Care during Our Global Health Crisis

  As the tea tree oil mists through my bedroom, where I have chosen to self-isolate, tears find me this morning. They cascade down my cheeks, in seeing the numbers in New York City skyrocket. “More than 20,000 New Yorkers have been infected by the coronavirus, Gov. Cuomo announced Monday, meaning the Empire State now…

Stay Home: Protect our vulnerable, slow the spread of COVID-19 and support workers ability to care for critically ill

Seno means“Okay, All together now, 1, 2…” Comes from the abbreviated pronunciation of “issei no” (一斉の) which means, simultaneously in Japanese. It prepares everyone to do a particular action at the same time. I entered the social media world after being offline on bedrest for over a week. I entered informed and concerned for the wellbeing…

Day Eight of Waiting: Watching the Petals Drop

This morning started off well, except for the crushing chest pain that woke me up a couple times before starting my day. David texted to see if I was up, and then, shortly afterward, we met on the upstairs balcony, outside our bedroom doors. This is our new routine. We bundled in blankets and sweaters,…

Life on a Hill: Day Ten

Reader Warning: This contains information about the world crisis * I am writing to you from my second-story bedroom from our house that is set on the highest peak in our neighborhood community in Washington, U.S.A. I can see through my french doors, across the street, to an empty school yard and green field. Typically,…