For many, they recognized how trying emotionally it was going to be for them to maintain isolation long term, and thus strove to build emotional resilience in themselves. This was done by practicing gratitude, finding hope, acknowledging small victories, coping with humor, and reflecting on what holds importance to them.
Bored while infusing: This picture is taken during the second of the 5 hours infusions, which were spaced 2 weeks apart. I was just playing around with filters and I remember finding this one and loving it. Actually getting that infusion, during a global pandemic, of a drug I fought for months to obtain felt so much like winning.The colors are so vibrant, which is something I had not felt is a very long time. There is so much black and white and gray in this world right now andwhen the opportunity for color shows up, you have to just grab it with both hands and let it fill you up!
Get outside!: At first it seemed like we were supposed to just stay in our houses and not do anything. But as time went on, I realized that we can do things we enjoy but we need to be safe about it. Being outside is one of the things that not only refreshes the mind, but it also gets us moving. It's not that we can't do anything. We just need to be smart about it. The tree tops keep reaching up despite being rooted to the ground; we need to adapt that similar attitude. While we are rooted to sheltering and/or quarantining right now, we need to keep reaching up.
Humor: I am unable to take a lot of different medications due to MAST Cell activation disorder so I use humor for pain, stress, perspective. This meme has captured many days lol.
Elderly Quarantine: My 99-year-old mother is quarantined in an assisted living facility and has had no contact with family (other than video calls) for three months. However, I sent her fabric and elastic, and she has spent hours making masks that they are using in her facility. It has made her feel useful, and as she told her granddaughter when asked about the virus: “Well, it is strange, that’s for sure. But, you know, people are capable of quite a bit. I think we don’t know quite what we can handle until we have to. We need to be kind. We need to help. When I was a child there were other farms near ours and we’d swap what resources we had to help each other. The war efforts were the same type of thing. Sure would be nice if we could make all the bad stuff go away,but I’ve never seen that before. What you need to watch is what we do when it’s over. A challenge like this is only good if we become better from it.” We,my mother and I, give you permission to use this photo showing her face.
Sunrise out my sunroom window: I do enjoy nature's colors. I want to enjoy being alive as long as possible. This is a photo that reminds me of hope.
