🧵 We have sacrificed so much for you over these past 18 months.

And it took only 3 days for you to destroy one of the last things I was hanging onto - the ability to keep my kids safe.

A big fear, more than for my own safety caring for hospitalized COVID patients, was … 1/

that my kids or husband would get sick. Like so many other healthcare workers, I have an elaborate decontamination routine that I do faithfully after every single hospital shift, to try to decrease the risk of bringing the virus home to my family. 2/

I thought about staying in a hotel. I did all the grocery shopping alone since I was already getting exposed at work. We masked meticulously when not at home. Their school had fantastic safety protocols & we also took advantage of virtual options during weeks of highest risk… 3/

of potential inadvertent transmission (after breaks when other families may have travelled). We pressed “pause” on participation in sports during the height of the summer & winter surges. We cancelled birthday parties, did virtual playdates, etc, etc. Why did I do all this? 4/

Because I know how bad this virus 🦠 can be, what it can do to even healthy individuals. It’s not just death; it’s long covid, it’s profound debility after hospitalization, it’s damaged heart muscle & scarred lungs. It’s persistent symptoms like poor exercise tolerance, … 5/