Surviving the COVID-19 Roller Coaster

When I was a small boy living in South Florida, during the summers we would take trips to visit family members in New York where my mom grew up.  I especially loved going to Coney Island. As well as the bright lights, games and (way too much) cotton candy, my favorite thing was to go on the largest wooden roller coaster- The Cyclone. 

I remember sitting in the cars which clinked and clanked up to the top of the ride, waiting to plunge down after reaching the top. Then wending our way through hair-raising twists and turns only to be safely deposited at the end of the ride in a disheveled and giggling mess. 

When I look at the graphs showing the COVID-19 timelines as it spent the past few months decimating the countries affected before the United States, it brought this roller-coaster ride to mind.  As we sat in our cars waiting for our turn up the hill, we watched the cars in line ahead of us with great interest as they went thought the hair-raising parts, the slow parts and even as their ride started to slow down at the end.  

We in the US, apparently have yet to reach the top of the ride before the plunge.  The curve on the graphs seen on television representing the timelines for Italy or China or South Korea all almost exactly overlap, from duration to intensive effects of the virus.

These countries started this dreadful ride before us, with all of its stomach-churning turns and the only thing that seemed to have shortened the worst parts of their involvement was when they paid attention to the healthcare directives including self-isolation, hand washing and social distancing.   

I don’t know how long this will take before things are better, or what is about to happen to us in the United States. The only thing I do know is that the way we will get through this successfully is – together. 

This year we are all caregivers.

Share your comments, thoughts and concerns.