Trichotomy

I have to confess. Even a year ago, at the height of the pandemic here in the US- like when washing hair after a visit to the groceries and when keeping the packages and mails in the garage for a week before opening them- I did not really expect Covid to come anywhere near my family. I barely knew anyone in my extended family or friends circle that got Covid. In my mind, the odds of a family member getting Covid were right up there with the odds of being struck by a lightning. How dangerously ignorant I was of the absolute devastation that was to come!

In the past five weeks, my husband's family of 6- my parents-in-law, sister-in-law, her husband and their two kids -13 and 9- all tested positive for Covid. In a span of 15 days, we went from figuring out how to isolate the healthy ones from those showing symptoms to frantically looking for ICU beds and eventually losing both the parents-in-law. An aunt's husband died. A friend's 40year old sister succumbed to the virus. Another friend's father passed away and was cremated by random folks because the friend could not travel. A manabadi student's 52-year old grandmother passed away, despite taking both doses of vaccination and not having any pre-existing conditions. Countless friends' parents battling it out in ICU as I type.

There's media blasting off on all possible avenues with the news that the number of new cases, as well as deaths, have drastically decreased this past week. I don't know if I believe that, for I see just as many frantic messages in online forums asking for an oxygen cylinder, ICU bed, or second opinion on lung infections/black fungus medication as I did a couple of weeks ago. Covid has more than touched our lives. It's as if a tsunami has hit us, and we are still being hawled away by its waves, not knowing when or if we can get our feet back on the ground.

As I see it, there are three kinds of humans back home, at least in Hyderabad. Those that are grieving the loss of their loved ones, those that are running around the hospitals- literally or remotely from another country- desperately trying to save their loved ones infected with Covid, and finally those that are alive, Covid-negative, and scared shitless, thinking about all the what-ifs. It is the trichotomy of Tsunami- each just as relentless and just as devastating.

Precaution, Positivity, and Prayers- all that one can do, regardless of where in this trifurcation one currently finds themselves.

Take precautions. Mask up, avoid being under the same roof as those outside of your family, avoid gatherings- weddings and funerals alike.

Stay positive. This is easier said than done, but sometimes, what medicine cannot cure, cheerful optimism can.

Offer thoughts and prayers to those facing difficult times. Kind words and healing thoughts are powerful, especially in the current times where the grievers miss even having those proverbial shoulders to cry on.

Yes, there are other kinds of people beyond this human trichotomy- those that see this pandemic as a business or political exploitation opportunity. To me, they are vultures, not humans. 

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Some of my posts on an online forum:

Just a few of the hundreds of messages I've seen on a daily basis: