We’re back from getting my son his second corona virus vaccination shot. He’s fifteen, so he became eligible three weeks ago.
The quarantine reminds me a little of when my son got leukemia when he was two. Then, too, we worried about germs constantly because my son had a compromised immune system.
Ironically, after the first few months (in which he got pneumonia twice), my son managed to get through sicknesses that knocked down my wife and I. After the tenth warning about his “compromised immune system”, I said, “The only compromise his immune system has made is with Satan!”
The quarantine wasn’t as bad as treating leukemia. It’s less work, and everyone’s going through it. Having a kid with leukemia is like parenting squared. Parents have trouble talking to non-parents. Parents have sick kids have trouble talking to everyone but other parents of sick kids.
The best example I can give of why is that most people, it seems, think any kind of cancer has a treatment that takes a matter of months. So, when people asked how my son was after five months, the reaction when I mentioned leukemia was, “Still?” as if I was a total slacker for not having finished the three-year course of chemotherapy by then.
I could go on, and I might at some point. The point is that if you go through leukemia, you’re eventually alone. This time, we had to isolate, but everyone had to isolate.
I think that’s part of what led the rage at the people who were attending parties or going to motorcycle rallies during covid. They weren’t being a part of us. More practically, they were sustaining the disease and lengthening quarantine, but I think there was also a visceral feeling that they didn’t share our effort and trials.
So we’re out. I remember from leukemia that it’s a slow process coming back. We hosted a party to celebrate the end of chemo. We invited twenty-odd people and nobody showed up. We were a bunch of shut-ins who declined every invitation and had nothing but obsessive updates to offer when asked about our weekend.
It’s a long crawl, but we made it out of the first part. Let’s be proud of those who quarantined and made it through. Let’s remember and honor those who didn’t make it this far.
