My friend's mum suffered with severe ME.

I was a student back then and I remember being shocked that she was so poorly, she couldn't attend her daughter's wedding.

She had been a professional dancer...
1/ Her lovely husband cared for her for years.

I was 19yrs old and I'd never heard anything about ME. There is a silence and invisibility swirling around it.

In late November last year, as luck would have it, the UKHSA's national event on air quality was being held in Bristol..

There were substantial childcare issues then, but I mean, just had to find a way to go, right?
🧵 I was chuffed to get a place and be able to attend for two days. (Despite doing a mad cycle across town in inappropriate footwear, to give my littlun his lunch.)

Got a proper name badge and everything.

My partner is an anaesthetist. He took a CO2 monitor into work this week; the air quality inside surgical theatres is probably the best on the planet.

However, other areas of a hospital can have very poor air quality...
1/
The risk of infection is high when you open up people's bodies. So the air must be as pristine as possible.

I listened to a podcast with a hospital designer talking; standard surgical theatres have around 22 air changes per hour.
2/

A friend of mine who teaches in a secondary school wants to acknowledge (but has to remain anonymous) that "there's a lot of illness around.. genuine illness".

Their school's attendance officer has openly admitted it this week. School leaders often feel that they can't trust parents. They usually divert to assuming that if a child is off sick a lot, that the parents are lying.

Especially if this child is known for routinely having low attendance. This is a "sign" according to the NSPCC.

Just want to quickly show this ⬇️
I was at our school recently & wanted to check up on this slim DIY filter in its classroom.

It had been removed.

Pictured are TWO air filters, both unplugged, jammed next to the sink in the art room.

🧵

Our primary school has done well at properly running filters in the rest of the school, but I had worries about this room.

Last term, our primary school was enthusiastically hosting the winter disco.

I had that familiar, heart-sinking: "how can I make this possible for my vulnerable family with the unrelenting risk of a certain airborne illness?"

Is there a way I can make it work? #CleanAir With their glitter paint & sequined flares.. the parents, infants, juniors & nearly-teens, will all pack into the hall to bust a groove to Sister Sledge.

Achieving better air quality here is not exactly in the planning and preparation of the PTA disco team.

I'd been wanting to do this for ages but had to wait for a window of dry weather... Finally, at the end of the winter term, I stood outside my primary school at pick-up time.

I had two DIY air filters behind me, some information on a flyer and a determination to chat.
🧵 6yr old and a stray cat "helped" me set up in the playground before all the parents appeared.

On display was one freshly-built new air filter and a dirty one that has been running for 6 months last year in my older son's class.

Yesterday I had to go on a coach trip for 3 hours. Now I knew the air quality could be bad on here, but never did I imagine this bad.

I was sat in the front seat and the cO2 never dropped below 3000ppm. In fact it was often over 4000ppm. I basically wanted to get off immediately, but too bad you're stuck.

It was a school trip and my son was back in the middle of the bus (he wanted to avoid the pukey kid who was sat behind me).

Here is a little story about infection control.

My friend, *Dr Bob, is an anesthetist working in a UK hospital.
Last week, he had a patient - *Ralph - an elderly man who had come in for a minor scheduled operation. Ralph was sitting patiently waiting for his op ...but Dr Bob spotted him cough and sniff a few times.

Dr Bob said: "I think we'll just do a c0vid test" and left the room.
You see, Dr Bob has a clinically vulnerable family.

Oh my God. I have found the Holy Grail. I have discovered Another Parent at our school who gives a shit about Indoor Air Quality!
*distant sound of angels singing*

His name is Steve. All hail Steve.

I appreciate not everyone will be as excited about this as me. 🧵 It started because a child in 5yr old's class has openly tested C0vid+. This prompted me to finally communicate properly on the class WhatsApp group.

Had been putting it off due to nobody really understanding or caring about Air Filters. Boorrrring!

Here's a simple, short video by our team: Whole Family Productions.

How to Construct a DIY Air Filter!
#CorsiRosenthalBox
*Needs sound Pollutants in the air can pose serious health risks to children; the air quality inside UK classrooms is unacceptably poor.

90% of teachers believe air quality has a negative impact on students’ or teachers' health, behaviour or ability to work.

Had a new sofa arrive yesterday. I explained (outside) to the two delivery men that my little boy is in cancer treatment, could you please wear masks inside.

They refused.

BOTH of them are exempt. Apparently. Big burly men who lug furniture around for a living.. have breathing problems (so severe, I guess) that means they can't even wear a surgical mask for 5 minutes.

Told me I would have to reschedule the delivery.

The NHS💙

At the time, I had no idea it was Remembrance Day.

But three years ago today, our little boy was diagnosed with leukaemia. A few days before, he had blown out the candles on his 2nd birthday cake. On our day that changed everything, I got an appointment within hours, to see the GP at 2pm.

She took one look at his pale face and immediately phoned the children's hospital.

My little boy (4yrs old) has leukaemia. His chemotherapy treatment lasts for 3 long years, so it’s standard that he attends school after the intense phase ends. But obviously he is vulnerable, because he is immune-suppressed. A letter detailing his situation has gone out to all parents at our school, explaining that we need to be told about chickenpox, measles etc... and Covid-19. The problem is, the UK has a “let the virus rip” policy approach to children.