With Christmas recently behind us, I’ve been reflecting on the one whose birthday we were meant to be celebrating. I’ll admit I haven’t been inside a church for a while. It may have more to do with a misalignment between how I and others understood Christianity than with any loss of faith.
I am no theologian. I count among my followers, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Hindus, evangelicals and those without labels.
I was appalled to see my brother’s church among those that filed a constitutional challenge about gathering. The youth group brought my other brother food when he fell on hard times. They sang at his funeral. How could they get it so right…and then so wrong?
This church has been offering online church for months so I was rather blown away to be honest. My brother misses people at church but this aging man with a developmental disability UNDERSTANDS. For the record, Jesus gathered wherever the people were. The people are at home, or should be. WWJD in 2020? Zoom Church? I think so.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20) Not four, not ten, not 100, not 500. TWO or THREE. If you live alone, gathering via Zoom WORKS! Stand down churches. Your larger responsibility is to your community as a whole.
There are lessons attributed to Jesus Christ that hurt none of us to consider. Whether you believe he is the son of God, a prophet or a wise man roaming the countryside, this one benefits all of us.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39)
All of you…believers, non-believers, those of different faiths…
Love. Thy. Neighbour.
Thy Neighbour with COVID.
Thy Neighbour over 60.
Thy Neighbour with Co-morbidities.
Thy Neighbour working in health care.
Thy Neighbour who has been denied our usual grieving comforts and rituals.
Love Them.
On November 4th I asked for love for our ageing neighbours.
https://pathtothepasture.com/2020/11/04/ageism/
On November 7th, days after my daughter’s birthday, I asked you to love her and her colleagues. For Dr. Markland and his ICU compatriots, I asked my community to care for them. They are your neighbours too.
https://pathtothepasture.com/2020/11/07/our-greatest-protest-for-healthcare/
“We saw it in Italy with military trucks hauling away bodies, with Italian doctors and nurses having to choose who received care (and who did not) based on survival probability. Many didn’t “make the list.” These weren’t all COVID patients. Patients with other situations were hitting those hospitals at the same time. Triage, I imagine, was a nightmare.”
On November 11th, I honoured our veterans, many of them seniors, by asking my community to love these heroic neighbours, saying,
“As deaths in long-term care once again reach a crisis point, as we in Alberta break hospitalization and ICU records, there are undoubtedly some veterans or those who love them, among the statistics.”
https://pathtothepasture.com/2020/11/11/they-protected-us-its-our-turn/
On November 27th, I tried to shine a light on just how many of us, how many of our neighbours, have “co-morbidities”… how many of us are at risk.
“Dr. Hinshaw said that having a chronic medical condition is quite common, with nearly a quarter of Albertans over 20 living with a medical condition. (Almost 800,000 people) Ten percent of Albertans have two conditions, and eight percent have three or more—conditions like hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
Hypertension is found in 87 percent of Albertans who died of COVID19. Almost 70 percent of Albertan men over 65 have high blood pressure. (My hubby, the moustache guy, is in this group). Having co-morbidities does not equal at death’s door.”
https://pathtothepasture.com/2020/11/27/club-comorb/
As we enter into a new year, hope lies on the horizon in a vial of vaccine. I ask again, “Love thy neighbour.” The vaccine rollout will take a while before it gets to all of us, and until it does, there continues to be a risk of spread. Health care workers and senior home residents come first, which will hopefully drive our mortality rates down significantly.
BUT
Many seniors and those with co-morbidities live in the community and will be waiting a while yet.
During this holiday week, the province reports approximately 1300 new cases. Of those, the WHO estimates about 5% become critically ill. We’ve consistently had around 1200 new cases per day over the last week or so. (Other than one low testing rate day) So we are looking at 48 – 65 people becoming critically ill each day. It is important to remember the cumulative effect. Those entering the hospital are added to people already there. Those in ICU will be there for a while; even once out of ICU, they will use significant resources. (See the November 7th blog for Dr. Markland’s overview of the possible resources required)
As of our last update a few days ago we have 921 in hospital (average age 63, range 0 – 104)
- Average age for COVID cases hospitalized with an ICU stay is 59 years making me REALLY excited about that upcoming birthday (range: 0-89)
- A total of 1046 deaths. (average age 82, range 23 – 107
- 23 is younger than our youngest death was previously…
The deaths matter. Every single one.
| Deaths | ||
| November 4th | Dec 31 | |
| Age 20 to 29 | 2 | 4 |
| Age 30 to 39 | 2 | 6 |
| Age 40 to 49 | 3 | 10 |
| Age 50 to 59 | 8 | 23 |
| Age 60 to 69 | 26 | 100 |
| Age 70 to 79 | 79 | 211 |
| 80 + | 223 | 691 |
While deaths in younger folks are rising, most alarming to me is that folks in my husband’s age group have now hit triple digits. And those “Aged” folks? The ones many don’t think matter, mattered to someone … and this is not an easy way to go.
And our neighbours working in health care…it’s gotten harder.
Dr. Markland’s ICU team in Edmonton is well beyond capacity now. Calgary hospitals are also beginning to see strain. He is regularly working 36 hour shifts. He is an empathetic soul. That’s a tough thing to be these days.
“It’s easy to turn this pandemic into numbers, but it’s so much more than that. These are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. That tickle you feel in your throat is how it started for them. Their death leaves scars.” Dr. Darren Markland
| ICU admissions | ||
| November 7th | Dec. 31 | |
| Under 1 year | 7 | |
| 1 – 9 years | 1 | 4 |
| 10 – 19 years | 4 | 8 |
| 20 – 29 years | 8 | 21 |
| 30 – 39 years | 11 | 30 |
| 40 – 49 years | 22 | 62 |
| 50 – 59 years | 41 | 118 |
| 60 – 69 years | 56 | 183 |
Dr. Daisy Fung has been hurting from the deaths in the LTC homes she covers. Her tweets give us insight on how the world looks from her vantage point.
“I had to tell a child that they had lost BOTH parents today. That was the start of my day. There were similar calls made. People think Christmas is stolen bc they can’t go shopping? I break news regularly that Christmas is devastated for families, stolen from patients.”
On December 5th she wrote,
“Words I heard today: ‘I wish I knew #COVID19 was serious. I now know & will tell everybody.’ Said as I keep their loved one comfortable as they die of COVID.
Albertans need to get it straight that it’s serious, we need to protect our vulnerable. Now.”
Yesterday she shared her joy about vaccines for these people.
“Ended work for 2020 by giving orders for all my #LongTermCare patients to receive the #Moderna #COVID19 #vaccine. Ended 2020 with a prescription for hope, provided by a feat of science and medicine. It’s kind of perfect”.
There are real people behind available” beds” and these people are becoming decimated by the constant struggle, the constant death of their patients.
If you can’t find it in yourself to love thy aged neighbours, your veteran neighbours, your neighbours with co-morbidities, your healthcare neighbours, I know you love someone.
Risking further strain on our healthcare system can affect any of your neighbours. It can affect you.
The same healthcare workers who accept COVID patients right now are those you will need if you have a heart attack, a severe car accident, a diabetic coma…that your child might need. While COVID mostly minimally impacts children, if they show up at an Edmonton ER for any issue, you want them to be cared for. Note that the Stollery Children’s Hospital is using space for adult patients and double-bunking kids.
There wouldn’t be room for you to stay the night and hold your child’s hand (or puke bucket…let’s get real…been there).
A situation like we are currently experiencing holds potential to affect every corner of our community and our lives.
When our neighbours get cancer, there’s little we can do to slow the spread.
In this, we have an opportunity. A Merry Christmas. A Happy New Year. A chance to really matter.
An opportunity to save lives.
Loving our neighbour is such a simple way to do it. #StayHome #WashYourHands #SkipHawaii
Path to Pasture 