The year got started in the majestic city of Porto, Portugal at a "chi-chic" boutique hotel all dressed up and fancy! Everything during that trip seemed so foreign and yet so familiar. The sights were almost like mirages that appeared before our eyes. We had planned this trip as a celebration for our 35th Wedding Anniversary by researching and listening to the advice of several friends that had visited in recent years. I suppose that's why everything was so familiar in a way, and yet so foreign. There we were after months of planning and plotting the points of interest standing together in awe of all the beauty. Truly an unforgettable trip!
Soon enough we were back in the States and back to work. Pedro back to the family business and I to my grandma duty. We had no choice, we had to come back to reality and start anew. As the first month of the year passed, we got back into our routines and comfortable again in our fast-paced life. Then one day in February, right after Augie's 2nd birthday, my healthy husband complained of a backache. Not thinking much about it he endured the pain all weekend until he could no longer control thinking of it. It was intense and painful. Given his history of kidney stones, we decided to visit the E/R, just in case he was going to be passing one. It's a concern we live with since his kidney cancer diagnosis 7 years ago. Thankfully, it wasn't a stone, or a new lesion, it was a urinary tract infection that should clear up with a course of antibiotics.
Cake Design by: @dreamcakesbyliz
We left the E/R and started the treatment. I had a full schedule with the grandkids, Pedro was planning a trade show; we were busy. But you know that old Spanish adage, "Dios escribe derecho sobre lîneas torcidas."... then you know He had other plans for us. Days later Pedro's discomfort increased and his fevers and chills were constant. We headed back to the E/R where he was poked, scanned and placed in observation for days until the blood cultures proved the correct diagnosis, but it had also shown a very strong bacteria that was resistant to most of the medications they had been using. I won't lie, it was scary. He had constant headaches and chills and slept hours on end. He was tested for the Flu and at one point the infectious disease doctor decided to test for Covid-19. A novel virus that was beginning to make its name known to us. Thank goodness both tests were negative. His condition wasn't improving and he had all the doctors working hard to find the right treatment. After two weeks a PICC line was inserted and he was allowed to go back home with a home health nurse administering daily dose of the super drug Invanz.
It goes without saying that we learned a lot about the Home Health Care industry and the quality of care so many people depend on. I'm not saying it was negative, but I'm not going to say it was positive either. Another hurdle that we had to jump and surmount. I got trained as well so that we could have some privacy on the weekends and made the best of it. In fact, we had another trip planned to visit the newlyweds in New York at the end of the month and the training came in handy! We visited with Tari and Steven in their new place and walked all over Chelsea, and the Piers, the Hudson Yard mega-plex, strolled through the West Village and into Washington Square Park. It was a delightful short visit but filled with great conversations, meals and even better, hugs! They were happy and loving their new city! Momma returned very happy!
The night we flew in from NYC, as the plane landed and we turned on our cell phones, the first text message received was from Tari saying that the 1st Covid-19 case had been reported in NY. Surprisingly, we weren't scared, we didn't think much of it, and we were certain it would be contained. How did we know this? We didn't. It's the false sense of security as Americans that we are an invincible society. Reflecting back I realize how naive we were. The next day Pedro went back to the office, I went back to the grandbabies, my girls and their homes. WE HAD NO FEAR OF HAVING BEEN IN NYC, IN A PACKED FLIGHT, AND PEDRO BEING IMMUNOCOMPROMISED.
The following week was business as usual. Babysitting, park strolls, and our Annual Catholic Church Festival. Still nothing to be afraid of and life continued until that frightful announcement that schools were closing. Being a private tutor and having so many family members that are teachers, including my very pregnant daughter, Tesi, I was beginning to think that our life was going to slow down for a bit. Never did I imagine that we would be in quarantine for 57 (so far) days! Never did I think that I wouldn't touch any other human besides Pedro. Never did I think that life had changed for ever for all of us.
But the title of this little blog is "Changes Bring Blessings" and so I plan to write a little more often about the blessings I've seen and am experiencing every single day. The resilience of the first responders in our country that are standing in the front lines caring for the sick and suffering. I will share the blessing of living through this pandemic and being aware of the kindness and generosity of so many people giving of themselves for others. I close today with a beautiful poem by Kitty O' Meara, an Irish-American teacher whose words verberate the sentiments we are all experiencing now after nearly two months away from our friends and families.
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised,
and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.
And the
people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous,
mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their
losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to
live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
- Kitty O’Meara
