OK DISers. Do you know someone personally that has the Virus?

[kiddo76]

My cousin's husband got tested Friday and got a positive test result today. He was sick for 1.5 weeks before he was able to be tested.

They have a 5 month old granddaughter that I know he had contact with less than 2 weeks prior to him showing any symptoms. I pray to God they are all OK.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Yes, my best friend's brother. He works construction at the hospital and his idiot girlfriend is more concerned about herself than she is for him or her child. She went to her mom's but left their 2 year old daughter at home with him. He had already been to the ER with 105 degree fever. Because he's not considered a frontline worker, and because he's only 40, the county listed him at somewhere around 180th in line to be tested. Another family member agreed to quarantine with the 2 year old because her "mother" is afraid the little girl was exposed to "more concentrated germs because she's so little." The woman is truly a moron. I just hope he doesn't get any worse because he sounds terrible.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

Every day i know more people who have the virus or who have family members who have the virus. I live in NJ and know that it is only a matter of time before it gets worse, because it WILL get worse. I'm thinking of everyone who has lost someone and everyone who has a loved one that is ill....I only wish that more drastic measures were taken sooner across the country. Some states are still doing business as normal, but I have been home for 17 days now, under stay at home for 10. We are in this for the long haul.

 

[Imzadi]

I now know someone who died of Coronavirus. I found out a fellow artist in Montclair, NJ, has died of it. There are about 9 million people in the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area. I really thought the chances of knowing someone who actually died of this are statistically slim. About 1% right? Isn't that what we are told? Isn't that what we tell ourselves our chances of being one of them are? She was a good, kind, thoughtful person. I can think, off-hand, of so many mentally & spiritually ugly people that could have been swapped out for her. People who are going, "Meh, so what? Some people will die. Let's get this over with so I can get on with my life." But, they're still here, and instead, a bit of light was extinguished from this world. 🕯

 

[jbcheerchick93]

I now know someone who died of Coronavirus. I found out a fellow artist in Montclair, NJ, has died of it. There are about 9 million people in the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area. I really thought the chances of knowing someone who actually died of this are statistically slim. About 1% right? Isn't that what we are told? Isn't that what we tell ourselves our chances of being one of them are? She was a good, kind, thoughtful person. I can think, off-hand, of so many mentally & spiritually ugly people that could have been swapped out for her. People who are going, "Meh, so what? Some people will die. Let's get this over with so I can get on with my life." But, they're still here, and instead, a bit of light was extinguished from this world. 🕯

1% seems so small....but when it comes to people that's a whole different reality. I'm "friends" with 1,700 people on facebook. That would be 17 people from my friends list. That's what makes me really stressed out about this.

 

[cabanafrau]

1% seems so small....but when it comes to people that's a whole different reality. I'm "friends" with 1,700 people on facebook. That would be 17 people from my friends list. That's what makes me really stressed out about this.

We've been trying to take this virus seriously at our house, but at the same time not become overly anxious about it. We've been hoping that by staying home, being mindful of keeping things clean and watching for any symptoms that we will be able to get by day by day. It's helped our attitudes that no one close to us has been sick or diagnosed so far -- we're very grateful for that. I was aware last week that 3 people I know through work connections had been diagnosed, and then saw news reports about two of them dying. That was hard to hear, yet I realize that both of those cases had underlying issues that probably contributed, so I tried to remain a generally hopeful outlook that most people who get this will be able to fight it off, maybe not get quite such a severe strain.

Getting the unexpected news yesterday that someone else I know through work had lost their 20-something son, someone not in a high risk group, someone never sick enough to be seen for treatment or diagnosis and whose "cold symptoms" were improving, suddenly had difficulty breathing and died yesterday kind of rocked me. I don't have an emotional relationship with the family. I "know" a parent through work, we've spoken, but we're not friends. I knew of the son through some of our conversations. Today I realize he was friends with some friends of each of my daughters and also with the children of some of my friends. I'd actually seen him in action myself when I went to go see a friend's son in a school event back when they were in HS.

I'm still not overly anxious, but I am kind of stunned about this in a way I'm having a hard time setting aside for some reason. That 1% seems to throw a very large shadow right about now.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We've been trying to take this virus seriously at our house, but at the same time not become overly anxious about it. We've been hoping that by staying home, being mindful of keeping things clean and watching for any symptoms that we will be able to get by day by day. It's helped our attitudes that no one close to us has been sick or diagnosed so far -- we're very grateful for that. I was aware last week that 3 people I know through work connections had been diagnosed, and then saw news reports about two of them dying. That was hard to hear, yet I realize that both of those cases had underlying issues that probably contributed, so I tried to remain a generally hopeful outlook that most people who get this will be able to fight it off, maybe not get quite such a severe strain.

Getting the unexpected news yesterday that someone else I know through work had lost their 20-something son, someone not in a high risk group, someone never sick enough to be seen for treatment or diagnosis and whose "cold symptoms" were improving, suddenly had difficulty breathing and died yesterday kind of rocked me. I don't have an emotional relationship with the family. I "know" a parent through work, we've spoken, but we're not friends. I knew of the son through some of our conversations. Today I realize he was friends with some friends of each of my daughters and also with the children of some of my friends. I'd actually seen him in action myself when I went to go see a friend's son in a school event back when they were in HS.

I'm still not overly anxious, but I am kind of stunned about this in a way I'm having a hard time setting aside for some reason. That 1% seems to throw a very large shadow right about now.

That is very scary. I have teens that think they "can't get it". They can.

And, yes, every change in health, even normal changes, scares me. I don't want anyone in my family to be in that 1%.

 

[Jennasis]

My family is in the middle of a crisis...a close friend has BOTH parents in the hospital with the virus. SEPARATE HOSPITALS. It was the only way they could get beds. His mother is not expected to make it through the night. The hospitals are not allowing the him to go up to be with his dying mother or to go be with his sick father and tell him what is happening.

I can't even begin to imagine. And as I sit here 500 miles away from my family, all of whom are in New York in the middle of the hot zone, it occured to me if...when...they get sick there is no way for me to go be with them.

Just as an update...the mother died this morning. Her children and her husband unable to be there with her.

 

[queenofthehive]

I now know someone who died of Coronavirus. I found out a fellow artist in Montclair, NJ, has died of it.

I am so sorry.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I marked "no", even though it's highly likely that either I or someone else I know has had the virus without even being aware of it.

The large percentage of "yes" answers is actually heartening to me. I know this isn't scientific sampling, but I'm still encouraged to think that we might be about to turn a corner here. It means we're gradually getting closer to herd immunity, which is perhaps the only thing that will end this scourge.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I can think, off-hand, of so many mentally & spiritually ugly people that could have been swapped out for her.

Um, speaking of not being spiritual & kind, this part of your comment was very not. You've heard the phrase, "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins." Well, there are a lot of things that happen in some people's lives that keep them from seeming mentally & spititually attractive to others. That doesn't mean they're bad people, or that they should have their lives "swapped out" for someone more pleasant and gentle...

 

[choirfarm]

I marked "no", even though it's highly likely that either I or someone else I know has had the virus without even being aware of it.

The large percentage of "yes" answers is actually heartening to me. I know this isn't scientific sampling, but I'm still pleased. It means we're gradually getting closer to herd immunity, which is perhaps the only thing that will end this scourge.

I know you didn't mean it this way, but it feels like, "oh boy, more people are getting it so I can get back to Disney sooner because of herd immunity." Pleased was probably not a good word choice.

I am so sorry for everyone who lost someone.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I know you didn't mean it this way, but it feels like, "oh boy, more people are getting it so I can get back to Disney sooner because of herd immunity." Pleased was probably not a good word choice.

I am so sorry for everyone who lost someone.

Yes, we all are. I'll also replace "pleased" with "encouraged". What that means is that, the more people that have already have it, the fewer are going to get sick and possbly die in the future. Most people who get this are fine, so the higher the infection rate is for the current number of deaths, the lower the death rate is, as well as the sooner this awful scourge will end, as I said.

 

[Jasminetori2011]

I'm so sorry for everyone's losses take care of yourselves.

 

[queenofthehive]

Um, speaking of not being spiritual & kind, this part of your comment was very not. You've heard the phrase, "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins." Well, there are a lot of things that happen in some people's lives that keep them from seeming mentally & spititually attractive to others. That doesn't mean they're bad people, or that they should have their lives "swapped out" for someone more pleasant and gentle...

Anger is part of grief. During a time of loss for someone it is perfectly normal to lash out with anger. People need love and understanding during this time.

 

[NCRedding]

I know 2 people who have /had Covid. One is isolated at home, feeling ill, but not debilitated. The other died at 43, leaving a wife and 5 children. He thought he had allergies, sought treatment, was tested, and isolated at home. Monday he went to hospital, and died Tuesday night. An all around good guy. A true loss.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Imagine all the cases like mine, where people are being turned away from testing because their symptoms don't fit the very narrow guidelines for testing. Cough? Check. Fever? Check. Trouble breathing? No? Then too bad, no test for me. The numbers must be staggering.

I'm literally sitting here in my warmest clothes and two pair of fuzzy socks, wrapped in an electric blanket, and I can't get warm. I feel achy to the point where I want to cry because it feels like a bad headache all over. My doctor said so long as I can breathe (which I can, thank goodness) he can't recommend me for a test. In the county where I live, they can only test 60 people a day anyway. I would dearly love to be tested because I'm scared. I've heard that people start to feel better only to suddenly wind up in the hospital in ICU. I want to know if I have it or not, so when I start to feel better I'm sure I *am* getting better and it's not just this virus' sick joke.

I've had the flu, in fact I had it very badly. This feels different, and I don't know if it's my anxiety disorder whispering that to me, or if it really *is* COVID-19 that I'm dealing with here.

The aches feel a bit better when I sit up, so you guys are all stuck with me until I think I can sleep.

 

[AustinTink]

My zip code has only one case, so far. It's a family member of someone who lives in our neighborhood. I live in a 4000-home community. I just pray it doesn't spread through here.

The Kona Ice truck came through the neighborhood today. Parents were sending their kids out to get snow cones. It just seems so dumb to me to allow that.

 

[Imzadi]

The other died at 43, leaving a wife and 5 children. He thought he had allergies, sought treatment, was tested, and isolated at home. Monday he went to hospital, and died Tuesday night. An all around good guy. A true loss.

Here in NYC, they are dying younger partly because there are not enough ventilators. A news reporter found out here is a new binding rule for EMS/paramedics & private ambulance companies: that if they get to a residence and the patient has no pulse or is in cadiac arrest, they are not to revive them. They cannot be saved as there are no ventilators. NO CPR is to be performed as they think the Coronavirus could be spread that way to the EMS team as they do chest compressions and force the person to exhale. A third of our EMS workers and hospital healthcare workers are already out sick with the Coronavirus and we're just at the start of this. They are also not to transport them to the hospital which is already overtaxed. It's up to the city to figure out how to pick up the bodies.

In the hospitals now, as there are not enough ventilators, the best they can do is tell someone that they are going to induce a coma and put them on oxygen (and HOPE the patient survives on his own.) They don't have anything else they can do without a ventilator. There have been news stories by family members, where the patient knew they would likely not make it out of the coma and they insisted on talking to their families one more time, and the healthcare workers waited for them to finish the call. And yes, those patients died. Patients, with no underlying conditions, and younger, that might have had a long, successful life afterward, if they only had the help of a ventilator to get through it. Now the hospitals are short on oxygen.

When a patient is on a ventilator, they are on an average of 20 days. The incubation period for the Coronavirus is generally 5-14 days. So they are always behind having enough ventilators for everyone. "Patient Zero," the one who unfortunately started it all here in NYS, in New Rochelle, finally got out of the hospital a couple days ago. So he was in critical condition for a month.

I don't know if this made the national news. We now have refrigerated morgue trucks. They are the 18 wheelers with a refrigerated trailer on the back. Bodies are being fork-lifted into them. I guess it's partly because they want as few people touching them as possible. All the guys doing the work are wearing PPE up the wazoo. You can Google for the horrifying photos. Fema is sending 87 more morgue trucks. Some official said NYC will become the next "Italy," while another area, possibly Florida or New Orleans is the next "New York."

I'm worried about some of the smaller cities without a lot of ventilators. There are still too many asymptomatic & pre-symptomatic people walking around, infecting others. And a number of people may show up at the hospital at the same time.

 

[mom2rtk]

Anger is part of grief. During a time of loss for someone it is perfectly normal to lash out with anger. People need love and understanding during this time.

Sure, but wishing to swap out those dying isn't necessary. Even now.