Breaking OUT the numbers

Some may find this post discouraging, others encouraging. I assure you I mean it as a positive, you know making lemonade. That is to say "encouraging".

I've come to realize that many bloggers today are younger than I. Therefore naturally I've already lived beyond the age of thinking "we/I know better". Truth be told every generation thinks that at least when they are young only to realize as they aged (quite a bit) that they were wrong. Whether they admit or not, it is the truth. Heck, I could make an entire post just on that segment, but no this post is about "our current environment".

COVID 19: Pandemic or epidemic this is not our first rodeo. I recently read an article written on March 12, 2020. Basically written 3 weeks ago. I was pissed off yesterday and for good cause.

As many of you folks know I help care for Uncle who will be 97 on August 4th. The last 2 plus years have been hell trying to find a dependable weekend shift caregiver for my uncle. Case in point: I hired a new person 10 days ago (a millennial). Had her trained (paid) to our routine Friday before last with her starting the next day (Saturday), right off the bat already knowing how the pay works, asked for an advance, hell no! Experience has taught me this is not a good sign. She worked her 12 hour shift, spending 80% maybe 90% of here time looking at her damn phone. This is strike two in mind mind (see I can tie it to baseball). Sunday before last her 2nd day after training, I watch her pull up. I go inside to start my cooking breakfast for my uncle. She immediately comes to the kitchen wearing a mask, telling me she has the runs, but took Immodium. She didn't have the mask on in her truck when she pulled up. I tell her you're here now you took the meds (drives an 45 minutes to get here), so you might as well work. She begs me to let her go home. For fifteen minutes she is begging, I'm shaking I can't do this. Well certainly in an "abundance of caution" I tell her to go home......still this is really strike 3 and thus she should be out! I kept my cool, withheld my tongue (which is not often). My night time lady for the weekdays is older, works a couple of hours in the evenings, well she passed out while driving around. Her sugar dropped to 30. Totaled her car, but more on that in a minute. Just the night before I was telling her not to be out and about so much. She said that no way is she going to go to the grocery store any less than 2-3 a week. I explained that is NOT good. Hell I don't want to go more than once a month, and yes I have enough food here to last 3-6 months. But No this older person says she will not buy food and freeze it, she wants fresh always. I told her that was going to bite her in the butt. She has been with us for 3 years so I can get away with that talk.
Getting back to her accident, her daughter called me telling me she was in a bad wreck around 4:30 she comes to work at 6pm. So I knew she wasn't going to make in. I also quickly realized that she was out running around doing what I deem as non-essential stuff (getting food or what not), because it could have been handled differently and more wisely. Her daughter had no idea how bad here mother was, which of course is the only thing that I asked when she called me. I asked her to keep me posted as she found out her mothers' condition. No word, I checked back after 1 1/2 hrs, no word. I check back again an hour after that, she said then that they was admitting her because of her sugar, but apparently nothing from the wreck. She was now stable. I wished her mother well and I explained to the daughter who is also licensed home health aide for an agency, my concern about the high-risk exposure to  COVID 19,  that in order for her mom to come back to work will require her to self isolate for for at least 14 days after returning home. She was like why?  HELLO DAMN MILLENNIAL, WTF. Are you kidding me of all people she should know why. Anyways, I know the mom needs the money who we love  and want nothing but the best for her, but NO WAY can I risk bringing that in this house. That said, I thanked myself for doing the right thing and also for not firing the new girl just days prior. I immediately, called her up asked if she was feeling better and she said absolutely and that it must have been something she ate. I explained to her about the wreck and that Helen (the night lady) was at the hospital and why, she could not work here for 2-3 weeks due to the exposure risk if she could fill in on Tuesdays as well work her weekend shift. She said yes. Great I told her that I would see her Saturday. I tell myself again that I was glad I didn't pop off at the mouth the previous Sunday. Saturday morning comes, 15 minutes after she was supposed to be here she calls, I woke up late, forgot my phone, grabbed my husbands phone, sorry she'd be here in 10 more minutes.  That was another HUGE sign.


New girl comes in goes right to work, gets my uncle out of bed,  (half assed) bathed, dressed and to the table for breakfast. About thirty minutes later, she tells me "I have a question". My husband phone won't charge, can I get an advance. I told here NO, again. I just paid her the week before, and she begs I need to buy another phone. I tell her "You work 8am til 8pm, and all stores by mandate are closed when you get off". Every ten minutes she was asking to use my phone, I said no this is not good, I held my tongue when I really wanted to tell her your addicted to your phone. Her husband texted me and asked me to do 1 of 2 things. Tell her to buy a phone asap, which I did or tell her to call him it was an emergency. For one if it was an emergency, he should have called live and asked to speak with her, DUH. How stupid are people. She kept on hounding me to let her go buy a phone, (this without me giving her any money), I finally told her go the store she wanted to go to was 5 minutes away, 45 minutes later she comes, back opens the door and says her husband saif it was an emergency. Her 7 year old son couldn't breathe (he has severe allergies), and was at the hospital. She had to go. Well, I get the parent thing, I am one. But under no circumstance are visitors allowed at the hospital right now, let alone both parents. If this was truly an emergency the husband would have called instead of texting telling her to buy a phone. I take this as all bull shit, but again I held my tongue knowing now is not the time to be that guy. So I check in on her 2 hours later to see how her son is, she says he's fine it was his allergies) but they are still at the hospital. Now I know better, half of my family works in hospitals many in the Emergency Dept's. No way are they keeping stable patients there for hours these days. Hell even those given pre-sumptive positives for COVID 19  are being sent home ASAP to quarantine themselves. My best guess is that  she didn't want to come back to work yesterday. VIA text, I calmly explained to her for being in the hospital has put her at HIGH-RISK for exposure, she can not come in until after she has isolated for at least 14 days. She responds, but why????   ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?? I just told you why. She replies but "can I still come to work tomorrow?"  NO!!!!!!!!!!!! At least 2 weeks but that is probably not going to happen, as I will have to try and hire someone on a permanent basis. I told her I would let her know in 2 weeks. Now I have to take out another HELP WANTED ad.

Still yet, this is yet to show you the numbers. I said this is to be encouraging not discouraging didn't I?

This Pandemic is not our first rodeo. Remember the article I mention like an hour ago......LOL.
We've had them before and Global Epidemics too.

Let's look at these numbers.

1918: The Spanish Flu 1/3 of the world's population was infected (back then there was barely a billion and half people on the planet). 500 million cases (people caught it), 50 million dead (675K in the US). Didn't have the resources or technology or data back then. It took a year and half to pass mainly due to the people dying. We got through that!

LET'S LOOK AT MORE MODERN TIMES:

2002-2004: SARS another Corona Virus. Global yes 8,100 cases worldwide with only 774 deaths. Not near what we have but still. It had a overall 15%v mortality rate, exscalated for those 60+ which was 55%.   This has not been eradicated yet, but the epidemic lasted 1 1/2 years.


2009: The Bird Flu (N1H1): killed 12K in the US, 284K world wide, but 61 million cases in the US alone. Kids were the most vulnerable with 47%, and 24% of the entire world population. BILLIONS. Lasted 1 1/2 years. We got through that!

2014-2016: Ebola:had a death rate of 50%, lasted 1/12 years. We got through that!

This article was written on March 12, 2020. COVID NUMBERS AT THAT TIME: 127K case worldwide, 3 WEEKS LATER 10X THAT NUMBER. We will get through this!


Moral of THIS story, no matter what is thrown at us WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, it just takes time and people caring about others not just themselves!

Take care all, be safe be well.

P.S.  I don't have a qualm with millennials, I just like saying DAMN MILLENNIALS, It's like DamnYankees. I only dislike the Yankees when they are playing my Braves. Heck, I collect most of heir players in my PC's. See I ended this with baseball.