This time it’s personal!

I had a long chat with my boss’s boss yesterday about all these shenanigans! It helps that he’s a friend and that we’ve known each other for over fifteen years, because it’s not always easy to admit that you’re scared. And I am!

One of the first people to die in the UK was a man in his early 60s with “an underlying medical condition” – or someone like me!

Most of us will remember the pig flu ten years ago. I certainly do, not least throwing up in the bath at two in the morning and then a week during which I could barely get out of bed I felt so rough. It took me several weeks to fully recover. A decade later and I’m by no means certain that I’d do as well if Covid 19 comes a-knockin’. I was diagnosed with emphysema (or COPD to those who can’t spell it!) seven years ago. It’s a long term, degenerative and terminal lung disease which also has the charming side-effect of compromising the immune system. Even on a good day I have limited lung capacity and I’m very prone to chest inflections which can severely limit my mobility. Covid 19 would be extremely dangerous for me.

Which brings me to my point. There are STILL people out there who just don’t appear to get it!

The hand-washing, the self-isolation and the social distancing have to be universal or their effect is limited. I’ve seen numerous examples in the last few days of people who say that they’ll carry on as they were because they’re at low risk and likely to survive it. Well, bully for you! But it isn’t just about you – it’s about sad old buggers like me for whom this could literally be a matter of life and death.

Fortunately I’ve been able to work at home for nearly two years and my employer has taken very positive steps to help us all reduce risk. Alex is taking similar precautions. We’re mostly keeping ourselves to ourselves and having as much delivered to the house as we can. That’s all we can do and hope that coronarse passes us by. (But we’re still gonna spam up the internetz!)

See you in June, dahlinks!