Day #79 Writing Through COVID-19: The Virus Has Arrived

Today, 74 days after my parents moved from Friendship Haven in Ft. Dodge to the lower level of my house here in rural Audubon County, their care center reported its first case of COVID-19. According to reports, the person testing positive is a resident in the same wing my dad's sister had lived in until she was moved to her daughter's house for her final days of hospice. She died May 1, four days before her 100th birthday.

There are only 43 confirmed cases in Webster County (which includes Ft. Dodge) according to the Iowa Department of Public Health; nevertheless, the virus managed to breach the barricade of protocols set in place by a very high-quality, vigilant facility.
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When my brother first suggested moving my parents to our farm, we agreed the likelihood of COVID-19 eventually reaching residents was high. Along with the nation, we had been watching as the horror of the Kirkland Life Care Center outbreak near Seattle first unfolded in the news.

We commended the precautions taken by Friendship Haven to limit potential spread: limiting residents' movement within the facility, suspending social gatherings, and prohibiting visits from family and friends. But we also knew that while these precautions necessarily limited exposure to the virus, they also limited residents' emotional/social support of family and friends.
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This morning my parents chimed in on various lines as I read aloud "Casey at the Bat."
My mother and I washed sheets and towels. We set the Roomba in action.
My dad and I played two hands of on-line Bridge.
We picked fresh asparagus.
My mom said how much she enjoyed watching the wind blow the grasses on the terrace.
She completed two 100-piece puzzles.
We watched Dan bale hay.
At 8:30 p.m. I set my parents up to watch "The Vicar of Dibley" at my neighbor's recommendation. I delivered their evening meds and offered them Klondike bars. As I headed upstairs, I began to recite "Good night, good night, fast falls the light..."
My mother joined in:
"And still God's love
shines from above
making all bright
Good night, good night."

Enough.
Be well.
Write.
Allison