covIDIOTS

The 2019 Coronavirus, “2019-nCov” (now known as COVID-19), is being mocked by a lot of people… a punch-line for jokes about “over-exaggerated” response by the general public. 

In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona’, ‘VI’ for ‘virus’ and ‘D’ for disease. The media and social platforms are saturated with buzz over this hot-topic. I tried to “bite my tongue” for as long as possible, but now write this post so that perhaps there might be a “perspective” for understanding the gravity of how REAL this situation is for some of us.

This pandemic is serious; but, it’s particularly dangerous for certain individuals in groups defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “High Risk” population(s); case in point, my sweet baby boy — Thaddeus Kieran Barrett (aka “Chappy”).   

Kieran has lived the vast majority of his life in “isolation”… at nearly four years old, he hasn’t been able to attend ‘normal’ pre-school, or even receive special education services outside the confines of our home, due to his severely compromised medical state. A mere cold or minor respiratory illness for a normal person has proven life-threatening for Kieran. So, as you might imagine, COVID-19 is terrifying (and, in a way, aggravating) for us. 

It stands to reason that if you’re even reading this message, you follow the story of our family and you recognize how grave the consequences of being a “covIDIOT” can be. To that end, I hope that you’ll feel empowered to share and partner throughout our communities — allowing us to best support and protect each other (especially our fragile friends) amidst these unprecedented circumstances. 

It’s time to show that we can be a group of decent human beings who care more about each other than we do about ourselves.

This is our *ironic* opportunity for using “social distancing” to “come together” ❤