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A Pandemic of Shame

Where is our humanity?

By Allison BrownPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Stay at home, save lives.

For years I have watched and read stories depicting apocalyptic events and dystopian futures, always hoping that if the events happened in real life, humanity would prevail. Then the year 2020 arrives, a pandemic hits and too many people choose to ignore all the major rules of quarantine.

My family of three already had a devastating start to 2020, our then four year old daughter had relapsed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in December 2019, diagnosed due to complications from chickenpox and she ended up on a ventilator for nine days to save her life, the following four months she remained in hospital, with the first UK lockdown happening as she was still an inpatient.

Finally being able to take her home was a relief and a cause for anxiety, as she would be needing regular trips to the hospital during a pandemic, we have remained in our own form of lockdown since, only going out for hospital appointments. She took on board the reasons why we had to be careful, why everyone at hospital wore masks, this all on top of her treatment and the restrictions that were already put in place for her to get better, she understood that more restrictions were needed.

She had covid swabs every time she had a temperature, which were often due to her compromised immune system and a central line that could be prone to infections. We had to go via a ward that tested everyone for covid, before moving you to a designated ward, thankfully Hannah was always negative, and was able to go to the usual children's cancer ward. We have seen the precautions put in place to keep everyone safe.

Then we watched in horror as people all over the world shouted in disdain at being told what to do, considering the old and vulnerable as expendable - it's 'only' them who are risk, and refusing to wear a mask when they are able - calling it a 'muzzle'. Seeing people take necessities away from those who need it most, and on and on it goes.

Panic buyers emptying the shelves.

I have had people reply to me on social media, saying they are only responsible for themselves, they do not need to consider those around them, I've been told that I'm lying about nurses needing to wear masks for 12+ hour shifts (when I have seen this with my own eyes) and much worse.

Not everything is a conspiracy, not all news is a lie, not everyone has been bought, we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, and some are abusing this. Misinformation is everywhere, and it has been created to cause chaos, to have one side attack the other, causing doubt and suspicion. Only waiting to take precautions until you see it happen to you or your loved ones, will be too little, too late.

Many key workers are currently working themselves to exhaustion, some wearing full PPE as they work a full shift, watching their colleagues fall ill and wondering if they'll be next. They are putting themselves at risk for you, so you can be treated when sick, have food, shelter and many other things we take for granted.

People wanting to live their life without restrictions has led to more infections, and now a new strain that spreads faster, leading to more deaths and hospitals struggling in packed wards. We collectively had an opportunity to prevent this, it was a marathon not a sprint, it would have taken time but we could have been in a much better position by now, and we failed.

Our actions will be documented, what will be discussed of us in history lessons of the future?

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About the Creator

Allison Brown

I'm a mother to an amazing daughter, who is teaching me something every day. I love books, movies and music, I'm also an amateur photographer. My articles will be varied, sometimes random and uniquely me.

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