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This
is my 65th daily update during the COVID pandemic. I hope
that my daily musings have helped you find strength and
optimism. I've strived to create some literary alchemy,
taking fear and worry and turning it into optimism,
strength, and courage.
So often in medicine, we start down a road that has twists
and turns, sometimes moving slowly and other times quickly.
Medical stories unfold, and looking back, we think: hmmm, I
wish I would have known that when this all started. We treat
the primary problem and then secondary and tertiary issues
are often created by our initial intervention. Of course,
this is not just limited to medicine, this is life.
Now more than ever, we have clarity. We better understand
the COVID biology, its transmission, its infectivity, its
incubation, and the variability of its clinical presentation
as well as its effects. We have better tools to diagnose and
treat it and there is reason to believe a vaccine is on the
horizon. Still, the exact path forward is a climbing,
winding road. Our strength was tested and we are now
stronger, more confident and less fearful than we were 65
days ago. And that strength will continue to carry us
forward. Not everyone will feel this way; some may challenge
the need for the lock down, a face-mask, or the necessity of
school closings. There are logical reasons to question and
fine-tune these maneuvers. And we should so we can keep
moving forward with confidence and precision.
Almost every day of the past 65 days I witnessed the fact
that people don't like living in a vacuum. I also witnessed
acts of bravery, kindness, and courage. People from all
walks of life came together to support one another and many
looked into their own darkness and found a strength they
were previously unaware they had. Observing people pull
together and persevere during probably the most unusual time
in our lives gave me Goosebumps, sometimes made me
misty-eyed and I often felt a special feeling in my heart.
You probably did too. There are lots of things wrong in our
country, but there are many more things that are right!
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The numbers:
Maryland: 42,324 cases -/- 2,004 deaths -/- 4.7% fatality
rate
Greater than 50% of the deaths in Maryland continue to be
nursing facility residents or staff.
The Maryland Rt was
updated yesterday and is 0.93 (down slightly); the lower the
better.
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My book update:
Thank you to all who have made a donation by purchasing my
book. I truly appreciate it! If you haven't made a purchase,
if these daily emails have touched you, soothed you,
reassured you in anyway, please let me know by making a
donation by purchasing BOOM!
If you've already purchased BOOM, please go back into your
Amazon account, in the search bar at the top, type "BOOM and
Oken" and write a review! These reviews are really important
(and so far we don't have any)! |
