Earlier this year, @bossletMD and I tweeted about how we were planning on handling the summer.
Winter is upon us.
As a critical care doc and a pediatrician with 4 school aged kids, and a winter of uncertainty ahead, here is how our family is approaching the coming months.
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Winter is upon us.
As a critical care doc and a pediatrician with 4 school aged kids, and a winter of uncertainty ahead, here is how our family is approaching the coming months.
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I offer this as a point of reference for those struggling with how to handle the coming cold, not as a strict recipe others should follow.
This is OUR way- I don’t pretend it is THE way.
Some will think we are overly cautious, and others will think we are being cavalier.
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This is OUR way- I don’t pretend it is THE way.
Some will think we are overly cautious, and others will think we are being cavalier.
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.@BossletMD and I discussed the underlying facts that will guide our decisions. They include:
Fact 1:
If I or my immediate family members (wife and kids) contract COVID, the odds are far in our favor that we would be fine.
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Fact 1:
If I or my immediate family members (wife and kids) contract COVID, the odds are far in our favor that we would be fine.
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Fact 2: If we were to be infected, however, there would be a period of time (days if not longer) in which we would have no idea and would be infectious. We would be vectors of SARS-CoV-2.
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Fact 3: There are people with whom I would love to interact that would be in danger if one of us were to pass COVID to them. I don’t want to be in a position where someone I love who is in a risky group gets COVID from me or one of mine.
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Fact 4: Coronaviruses tend to spread much more in the winter, so vigilance will need to go up at a time when “pandemic fatigue” has set in for many. We are all tired. This is going to be hard.
Source: bit.ly/3olCair
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Source: bit.ly/3olCair
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Fact 4 means that, while this summer was difficult, the winter will be far worse from the standpoint of not being able to do the things we want or see the people we love.
Properly respecting the virus is going to be hard.
Here we go. The following will be our guide.
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Properly respecting the virus is going to be hard.
Here we go. The following will be our guide.
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Winter precept 1: Our family will continue to hunker down. We will only venture out for necessary things, one of these being very occasional human interaction.
We have prioritized work, school, what few school extracurriculars exist, and visits with family outdoors.
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We have prioritized work, school, what few school extracurriculars exist, and visits with family outdoors.
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Winter precept 2: We will continue to try to spend as much time as we can outdoors. We generally stay in during the winter, but I am going to make a concerted effort to bundle the family up for cold-weather hikes and bike rides.
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Winter precept 3: Winter sports for us are generally indoor affairs and we will evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. Those places that are limiting crowds and requiring masks will be considered. Otherwise, a hard no.
Which will disappoint our kids.
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Which will disappoint our kids.
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Winter precept 4: No winter break vacation for us. As someone who has seen this thing from the front line, it is just not worth it until we get a vaccine.
But I look forward to the day when I don’t consider travel and crowds risky for all of us.
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But I look forward to the day when I don’t consider travel and crowds risky for all of us.
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Winter precept 6: We will not share indoor meals with anyone outside of our immediate household members.
Anytime we are indoors with anyone with whom we do not live, we will wear masks.
In-restaurant dining this winter is not going to happen.
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Anytime we are indoors with anyone with whom we do not live, we will wear masks.
In-restaurant dining this winter is not going to happen.
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Given the risk, I don’t see us doing Thanksgiving or Christmas this year with grandparents.
This is our “COVID year”- we are sacrificing this year’s celebrations so that we can have 20-30 more with grandma and grandpa. (h/t @mtosterholm)
This makes us all sad.
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This is our “COVID year”- we are sacrificing this year’s celebrations so that we can have 20-30 more with grandma and grandpa. (h/t @mtosterholm)
This makes us all sad.
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Winter precept 7: We will not visit high risk family members unless the setup is considered low risk: outdoors, sitting 6 feet apart in lawn chairs without sharing any food or physical contact.
This means the weather will need to cooperate.
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This means the weather will need to cooperate.
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Winter precept 8: We will obey any quarantines. We just finished a 2-week at home stint with our kindergartner and it was tough.
It will likely happen again.
But participating in society means caution with this virus.
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It will likely happen again.
But participating in society means caution with this virus.
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Winter precept 9: We will continue to hope beyond all hope that in-person school can continue.
In-person school has gone well and the kids’ moods are significantly better when they get to leave the house.
This means adults refraining from adult things.
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In-person school has gone well and the kids’ moods are significantly better when they get to leave the house.
This means adults refraining from adult things.
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Winter precept 10: We will look forward to when a trusted vaccine is approved by the @US_FDA. We will trust scientists and encourage all of those who can to get it.
Only vaccine-created herd immunity will end these precepts and our winter of isolation.
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Only vaccine-created herd immunity will end these precepts and our winter of isolation.
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This is the winter of uncertainty. Let’s proceed with humility, the willingness to check assumptions regarding how things will play out, and grace for those around us who disagree with our decisions (within reason).
fin/
fin/
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