1948. My Heart for Heroes

I was pleased to hear our First Minister talking today not only about NHS Staff, Emergency Services and Social Care staff, all of whom deserve our utmost gratitude, but also about Delivery Drivers, Domestic Staff, Care Workers in the community and of course food and essential retail workers.

Whilst the NHS is very close to my heart having worked for 34 years in the NHS up until a few years ago and my eldest is a Senior Pharmacist in the NHS, my youngest is also one of the thousands of supermarket staff working long hours in order to ensure that everyone gets the food they need to get by.  Last week my youngest did 50 hours and yes he will be well paid for it but managing a chronic skin condition and constantly washing his hands and wearing gloves is a huge challenge.  He is also dealing with other issues which have had to go on hold whilst this virus crisis is going on.  He has faced up to all of these demands and is doing a simply amazing job.  I am so proud of him, the risks to supermarket workers from the virus are high and he tells me that people are still not doing what they’ve been doing advised to do and he has even had some abuse at the tills from people when they have been asked not to stock pile certain goods.  This heart is for him and all the others like him.....

I had a rather unsettling message from a dear friend whose husband is battling cancer and has been isolating at home for over two weeks now.  She was in a flat panic because a stupid local woman had taken it upon herself to dress up as a bear and take laminated pictures of rainbows to all of the households in their village.  Having knocked on my friend’s door and been told that it would not be opened this woman then proceeded to push the laminated picture through their cat flap.  My poor friend was beside herself as her hubby is so vulnerable and she is afraid that the virus will get into her home despite the fact that they’re not going out at all.  All I could do was re-assure her and tell her to disinfect the door and the cat flap and throw the picture away.  I cannot believe that someone has been so thoughtless and what happened to not going out unless absolutely necessary?  I also read that the new NHS Nightingale Hospital has had to ask people not to send them rainbow pictures to put up inside the hospital.  

In the middle of writing this I’ve just had a video call from my step daughter asking if my grandson can post a rainbow picture to us...I told him that I’ve got a better idea...email me a photo of his picture and I’ll print it out and put it up!

I feel very unsettled myself today...I am worried about all of my family and my friends....this virus seems to be attacking all ages.....and we have no idea when the infections will peak....not next week as some people seem to be predicting...this was knocked on it’s head today in our daily bulletin from our First Minister...no-one knows when this virus will start to slow down and we cannot afford to be complacent now......stay home...stay safe....