I want to share a story about my close friend, who is dying of cancer, and the impact of #Coronavirus. With her permission, I want you to know about the effects of this virus in the here and now, and implore you all, on her behalf, to take #SocialDistancing seriously. 1/
My beautiful friend is a mother of three young kids. She is the reason that @emsyanna and I know each other. She is the smartest, funniest, kindest person you will ever meet. We love her with all our heart. Five years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. 2/
It has been the worst of times, and the best of times. Our little group has become closer than ever. We drop everything to spend time together. We have known for a long time that the end was coming. A couple of weeks ago, she was given 2-3 months to live. We are heartbroken. 3/
It feels unspeakably cruel that she is now moving into the final phase of her illness at the same time as we are facing a global pandemic. Last night, we came together over Zoom to chat to her, and we will do that every day we can for as long as we have her with us. 4/
We have to do it this way because we cannot go and visit her. We cannot sit with her and rub her aching and swollen feet. We cannot give her a hug. She would love nothing more. She tells us that she knows now that we will not be able to have a funeral for her. 5/
The worst and most difficult part of it all is that she is, to put it bluntly, low down on the list of priority patients. She knows this. We know this. And importantly, she is worried about whether she will have a bed, or a respirator, when she needs one. 6/
The cancer has spread to her lungs, so we are all frightened and worried for her. It is scary. And we are devastated. 7/
Our friend is one of many, many people living with terminal illness or other serious medical conditions in the midst of #Covid_19. To those who are thinking they won’t get corona, or that it will be just “mild”, or that it’s all still hypothetical, it is not. 8/
Not only do we already have many positive #coronavirus cases in Australia, but we are starting to see the flow on effects for people like our friend. These effects matter too, and we want you to know about them. 9/
She tells me that she just wants to be able to see and to be with her friends and her family before she dies. And that instead she is alone in her house, wondering if this is how it all ends. 10/
I know that there are many factors that shape the nature of the pandemic, who gets it and why. These include social and economic conditions, decisions made by governments of different stripes over many years, policy priorities, and so on. 11/
I hope in time that we will learn from all of this, reflect on and study these decisions and how they shaped the virus. And that if necessary we will implement some big, structural changes. 12/
But for now, nothing has hammered home how absolutely and unavoidably interconnected we all are than the predicament of our dearest, darling friend. We are all inextricably entangled in this. And as such, we can all do something to lessen the suffering of others. 13/
Most of all, I am sharing this story because I want everyone to know that the effects of the decisions we make and the actions we take matter. They matter to people you may not know. They matter just as much as the the effects of the virus itself. IT IS ALL INSEPARABLE. 14/
I know stigma is a major challenge, and I don’t want to perpetuate individualised thinking or blame. But as individuals, we can play a part. The spread of the virus will affect people in ways we might not have recognised or thought about just yet. Please think of them. 15/
Think of our friend, and the care she will need at the end. Think of the many others like her. #StayAtHome if you can. And take care. END.
