Days of the Virus: Settling In

If last week and the first part of the weekend were about facing facts about SARS-CoV-2, then yesterday and today have been about taking action.  The last 30 hours or so have been spent, apart from a few breaks for sleep and a walk outside, coordinating my practice to provide care-at-a-distance for my patients -- folks who themselves are having to respond to quarantines and quarantine-like circumstances.  Despite what I consider decent planning overall on my part, it has been highly stressful:  the software that I expected to use for videoconferencing turned out to be unreliable and communication with my patients about the changes has been less than perfect.  The stakes for this are high, too, because of how much I care about my patients -- these are my people, it's my charge to create a space in which they have the chance to get themselves well.  I know the nature of the process is that it goes up and down (I tell my patients all the time, "you can't screw this up"), but it's still a challenge to keep from feeling disappointed in myself. 

Of course, from a psychological perspective, it's easier to worry about getting the telepsych software set up than about a worldwide pandemic or who among my family and friends won't survive it, so, as defenses go, it's not terrible. 

My family is pretty much settled in now.  My octogenarian mom, who is pretty extraverted, seems to have made peace with the boundaries needed to keep her safe.  My daughter has moved back in with her mother after her dorms closed; she has her old familiar room back and her mom is always well-prepared.  We get to talk frequently via videochat and text, but she decided days ago that she didn't want to risk passing the virus to her grandmother, so we're isolated for the duration.  Similarly, my stepdaughter has taken the leap to stay full-time with her boyfriend; there's faith on his side, too, as their relationship, which has been flourishing in the most beautiful way, is still young.  My wife's business has been conducted almost exclusively online, so that's hardly any change for her in that regard, and her school has transitioned to online classes but is on spring break now anyway.  Missing her daughter is hard, as they are very close, but they keep in touch via electronic media almost hourly. 

So, we're not done with the transition yet, but it's well on it's way and it's easy enough to see a routine emerging in the next few days.  It's helpful to pay attention to that; again, it's a useful defense and, so long as one isn't completely blinkered, a good idea.