Accessibility and COVID-19 (Part 4)

2021 is here, and so is COVID-19. Still. Not gone yet. Sigh.

Since it was October when I last discussed how my wife and I were doing during the pandemic, I thought I would provide you an update. As I stated previously, with her Multiple Sclerosis medications, Angie is immunosuppressed, which means she is at greater risk from the illness. Which means we continue to social distance and protect Angie, and also are increasingly more frustrated as we watch many in our community, our State, our Country, and in the World become more and more lax. We are seeing fewer and fewer people wearing masks in businesses, more people taking trips out of state, and more and more people having large gatherings of people. We understand the fatigue and frustration, but this pandemic is not over. The more people become lax in their protections against spreading the virus, the more diligent we have to be to protect Angie.

That said, there are two highlights to discuss. First, we had a wonderful Christmas holiday with our daughters at home. They both quarantined for two weeks after their fall semester ended then came home to celebrate the holidays with us. Being able to spend time with family face-to-face, enjoy meals together, play some games, and have others to talk to were wonderful and uplifting. Celebrating Christmas with extended family was very different, but having our daughters home felt a little more normal which was quite the emotional boost after a difficult autumn with the pandemic.

Second, there is hope on the horizon as the vaccines are being distributed. Angie’s doctor states we should be eligible for the vaccine in early February since she is high risk and I am her caregiver. The vaccine will not instantly mean we can go out among people again, but it does mean we can slowly ease up on our pandemic restrictions as more and more people receive the vaccine. We can see a future end to the majority of the social distancing, mask wearing, cleaning everything constantly, and isolating ourselves at home. Knowing an end is coming is very encouraging.

How did your holidays go? How are you holding up in the pandemic?