Bleeding Edge

Dear Friends,

May the Good Lord have Mercy upon us…

Just few weeks ago, life in Washington state, in the Northwestern Pacific region, in California, and then in the whole of the Western states and in the rest of our country — began to change for all of us, when we learned that COVID-19 the Wuhan Coronavirus, was spreading like wildfire through community transmission, and killing people in an indiscriminate fashion…

As of today we have throughout America more than fifty thousand certified infections and about a thousand deaths from this disease whose surface we haven’t even started exploring.

Hard times up ahead, and many people will lose their lives — yet now it is not time for despair, because our destiny offers not the cup of despair, but the chalice of challenge and perhaps even opportunity to learn doing things differently…

Everyone is now sequestered at home, and a lot of people are experiencing social isolation and suffering from cabin fever, but that too shall pass as we seem to be increasingly connected via the internet and our screens. Our virtual presence makes it actually easy to reach people, because everyone is looking for social connection.

This telepresence feels like a watershed moment for a lot of folks who haven’t tried it and are trying it for the first time now, and in many use cases, this becomes a new habit and an appropriate way to do more communicathings going forward.

Of course, not everything will or should shift to online/video. But for many activities, it’s a totally fine way to do things, and can have other potential benefits, especially compared with long-distance travel for work (time away from home, carbon footprint, etc).

This is a terribly hard time, and it’s hard to even contemplate the economic consequences that will come from it. But it is also encouraging to see people learn new behaviors that could be really beneficial in the long run.
Surely many people will perish, and our numbers will be greatly diminished.

For the time being, I wish to say this: our nation will get by this.

China has seen a leveling off of recent circumstances, however they’re a number of weeks forward of us they usually additionally took drastic measures that we in the US are solely simply starting to take, however we’ll ultimately get by it.

Till then, we’re going to rely on each other to assist, so reach out to your folks and see what you are able to do for them in order to assist others who are sequestered and unable to meet their needs by themselves.

Why don’t you ask your aged neighbors if they want something. Ask folks who live alone and don’t have the ability to speak about what’s happening on their neighborhood. If you live alone — then grab the opportunity to do some spring cleansing, begin a blog or take the naps you never have time for.

As for earnings, I simply don’t know. None of us do. I fear about individuals having to decide on between paying their rental payments, or their lease payments or their children’s school fees, and their home mortgage and I hope that our authorities acknowledges this dire scenario and relax the tax deadlines or possibly even forgive some debt.

How about a National Debt Jubilee because of the Wuhan Coronavirus?

Regardless — I’ll be right here doing my greatest to inform all of you who’re struggling to get by during this most difficult of times.

The one consolation we are able to take is that we aren’t alone.

Perhaps in spite of everything that is mentioned and achieved — we will understand that our world is a lot smaller than we thought and we’ll have the ability to admire life and each other in a completely new way.

And as soon as the world has the coronavirus under management, our eating places and bars will roar again to life, with a ferocity we have not yet seen. Glasses will be clinking, tables will be turning and everybody will once more relish the chance to be social.

Till then, be sturdy, love your folks and wash your palms.

Still, its hard to fathom what has happened, and yet we have to accept that for what it is.

Because as people living in society — we drink from the common communion cup and we go on living on borrowed time as we have always done.

Especially now, in this time of a new sickness culling a great number of our loved ones while we watch them helplessly crying for mercy…

Still I hope and pray, that you and your loved ones are well, and will go on to survive this one, unscathed.

As of today, hundreds of people have died in America, and my heart goes out to their families.

Our public health experts and countless health-care professionals are leading heroic efforts locally and around the globe to fight COVID-19, in order to save lives, prevent the disease’s spread and find the vaccine and treatments that will vanquish it from our communities.

At the same time of loss, we are determined to use our stores of innovation and compassion, to focus on the important work as public health professionals that always search for critically important medicines from all other disciplines and diseases.

For all of us — near and far — the world has changed quickly and forever.

We have learned our daily routines and responsibilities can be disrupted almost overnight.

We have new phrases that define our reality, such as “social distancing” and “flattening the curve.”

All of our regular events and even church services have been cancelled.

Jobs have been lost.

Retirements have been delayed.

Storefronts have been shuttered.

People we know have died.

We are gobsmacked.

Yet, we are resilient and far from helpless.

And as we are reminded how much we all rely on each other and how — it is through our decisions that we can protect our neighbors, our families, our children, our older adults and especially those that are most susceptible to this virus.

At the same time, that we are learning that feelings of isolation and uncertainty when we’re stuck at home can take their toll — we retain a strong sense of community, and the need to love and be loved, to work and to be productive and to find security in the small things, as we are acutely aware of the need to extend grace to one another as we adjust and make do in these most difficult of times.

Because we are learning other things too, and especially that in these worst of times — sometimes we can show our best selves by helping others overcome the impossible.

Reaching out to our community is an optimistic way of facing life with Covid-19, in this “Age of Cholera” epidemic.

And while the Plague is raging — our still life continues…

There is a reason we are ranked as the most innovative people in the world, and to prove that — we are innovating quickly.

Our virtual connections reduce feelings of disconnection and isolation.

Our people whose lives have been disrupted — have demonstrated incredible resilience, kindness and leadership.

Our world-changing research continues, as labs and clinics work to modify operations to protect their employees but also carry forward decades of work with the potential to prevent future crises.

We also continue to provide the critical clinical services in multiple fields that so many people depend on.

We have weathered plagues, wars, death & crises before, and we shall do so again.

Generations of Americans have built, through good times and bad, the foundation of our response to this virus today, and thus within this rapidly changing environment, we will continue to be transformed as a People, as we prioritize the health and safety of all others by focusing on our own, and thus helping heal the broader community.

Thank you for the outpouring of support, friendship and offers of help that have come from so many of you.

This crisis has illustrated what a profoundly generous and courageous community our virtual family is.

You truly inspire and invigorate me to continue fighting on the front lines of this crisis along with all of us, making decisions on behalf of you.

Above all, I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy and I hope and pray for the best outcome because in this new and uncertain landscape, I can only say how grateful I am for our community.

The ties that unite us make our virtual family strong, and together we will care for and lead our people, our nation, and our community, along with the world forever forward.

Yours,

Dr Churchill

PS:

And let us share a common prayer for all of us:

“Like the mountains that surround Jerusalem, surround us, O Lord, in moments of weakness and vulnerability.
Be with us always that we may never be shaken.
Protect and comfort us with the assurance of your presence in times of deepest need. “