DEAR HARRIETTE: I hear all the political talk back and forth about COVID-19, and it makes me sick. My mother came down with it, thanks to her caregiver -- after months of not being allowed to see any of her family. We are heartbroken. She is healing, but it is slow. She has started losing cognitive ability, we think because she has been cooped up in her apartment unable to do any of the social activities that her residence offers.
We look at our precious mother, who has done so much for us, and it’s hard to hear people say that old people with ailments are going to die anyway, so that’s just how it is. She is our mother. I wish I could make the politicians stop dismissing whole groups of people, especially our elderly, as dispensable during this time. What can we do? -- Anti-COVID
DEAR ANTI-COVID: Sadly, I think for some people it takes seeing a loved one stricken with this awful virus for them to take it seriously. We should be thinking that every life is precious and doing all that we can to help each person. At least that’s how I was taught to look at people. All that I have read suggests that the elderly are more susceptible to this virus than young, healthy people. But that’s true about just about everything and surely doesn’t mean that we should shrug our shoulders and consider their demise a given.
I recommend that you write to or call your members of Congress and ask them to keep COVID-19 a priority issue for all Americans, especially the elderly. Be persistent with your protestations, as this will help them to know how serious you are. Blessings to you and your mother.