Don’t stop watching out for yourself and your family
June 24, 2020
By Doug Sheaffer
Don’t stop, please.
Due to a lot of people responding, taking some extra precautions and being generally more aware, progress, it appears, has been made. We hear about “flattening the curve” and fewer critical cases have been reported in some areas.
We hear about moving from phase to phase during a cautious re-opening of our communities, and I am grateful to hear positive news during the pandemic.
All that is good. Sometimes stopping is needed for a time. The problem is that this dynamic can spill over and we stop almost everything.
We think of essential outings such as grocery shopping, getting the mail because we have to. However, there are others that may be of equal or greater importance. We’ve heard reports of people in or communities who aren’t making medical appointments because they think of them as non-emergent.
That may be the case, but if regularly scheduled monitoring doesn’t occur, our “non-emergent” issues may rapidly become emergent. Clinics have scheduled appointments to avoid crowds in waiting rooms or in the hallways. They are working to maintain needed exams without creating a risky atmosphere.
So, regarding your medical appointments: Don’t stop, please.
Other contacts for needed information, filings, applications, and so on, may now have offices opening on a limited basis and/or may still be available by phone or email. This could be for anything from food stamps to Medicare enrollments and information. Either—or various other needs—may be just as critical.
So, for ongoing needs for you or your family: Don’t stop, please.
Concern for others is admirable and you’ve demonstrated that you care enough to pull back from being out and about.
Concern for yourself is also admirable. Even though staying in place is also taking care of yourself, so is doing what you need to do to stay healthy and independent.
So, for your sake: Don’t stop, please.
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