VCC Magazine Summer 2020

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S ummer 2020 4 My family’s journey through the Coronavirus Pandemic has left us generational memories of an unwelcome guest in my household. With a six-year-old residing in the household, I hope she will learn lessons valuable enough, to share with future generations. Most importantly, I pray that she will inform them, that our survival was only because, during the most difficult experience in my family’s history, we were the recipients of God’s Grace and Mercy. The Coronavirus is clearly a test of one’s faith. Many are living, surviving, or dying at the mercy of a Pandemic that is obviously, not controlled by any boundaries, and is “no respecter of persons.” Its main objective is to find a living organism (human factor) as a host to launch its deadly attack. The world is on pause, as Covid-19, has monopolized, and mounted an attack on men, women, boys, and girls. All indications, speak clearly to the fact, that there are no hiding places from this disease, for the Rich or Poor, Black, or White, Asians or other people of Color, all are victims of this deadly virus. There is no partisan sensitivity or geographical compassion from this disease when it launches its attack. At the mature age of 65, I witnessed like no other time in my life, an epic hand of persevere, endurance, hope, and survival in the midst of some of my greatest fears. Life or death for my husband, my daughter, and myself was the frightening issue at hand. Earlier in the article, I talked about my granddaughter, Storie. She has voiced with an abundance of opinions, as to her perspectives on what this virus is or is not. She appears (rightfully so) to have a disdained taste in her mouth for a virus that ran rampantly in her G-LO’s and Papa’s house. Truthfully, she has become an expert witness on how devastating this disease is and how important it is to follow the CDC guidelines. Frequently, she is quoting what Dr. Sanjay Gupta has said about the disease. I am willing to share a very intimate conversation that I had with her about the Coronavirus. She is a six-year-old girl who has a knack for creating riddles; I have noticed that she is often wise beyond her years. Every day, there is a new riddle just for old people like me, to figure out. One day after feeling better during my bout with the virus, she asked, “G-LO, do you know why the Coronavirus wants brothers and sisters?” The question left me pondering how she conceived that the Coronavirus had brothers and sisters. Frankly, I have just learned to play the games she has designed for grandparents. Trying to keep up with her is a major task, so I go along to get along. Getting back to the question, G-LO do you know why the Coronavirus wants Brothers and Sisters? After pausing for a moment, I said “No.” She looked at me with those big bright six-year-old eyes and replied, waiting for me to stop pondering the question. Finally, she said, “G-LO, the Coronavirus wants brothers and sisters, so it can spread.” She then asked, “you get it G-LO (as she extended her arms out wide on her side) and it wants brothers and sisters so they can spread out.” Storie in her young mind authenticated one of the main characteristics of this disease, by conceiving that it has the ability to spread fast. Wow, was my response, for in my household that is exactly what the virus did.We could not see the brothers and sisters, but we quickly became very familiar with what this virus was capable of doing. This Pandemic has notoriously used “weapons of mass destruction.” It has left the most vulnerable, weakened, and subjected to death and disabilities. This disease has exposed the many health disparities, which have historically been challenges in Black Communities and Communities of Color. Covid-19 has exposed and magnified the many “dis-ease” of these communities during this health crisis. The risk factors of contracting this disease must be taken seriously, as we observe daily, the daunting impact on my family, other families across the Commonwealth of Virginia, this Nation, andWorld. Storie was clueless as to her little riddle, but so was I, until I heard the renowned Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon, and Medical Commentator on CNN, along with other renowned experts, say that the Coronavirus is like a family with descendants. My daughter came home extremely ill one Thursday evening in late March. Throughout the week, she had helplessly complained with profound concerns, about several of her colleagues being ill. “Mom” she said, “I hope they don’t have that virus.” She actually had conversations with her supervisor about implementing a plan that would create and ensure a more protected environment for her colleagues and clients coming into the bank. She was diligently seeking precautionary measures for her Dad and me. The broadcasting of vulnerable populations of individuals by age and underlying conditions, she realized that her parents were in the vulnerable and targeted population. In addition to her Dad and me, there was a concern for two daughters, Storie, and her two-year-old sister. Well the rest is history; the Coronavirus struck the entire household.We all tested positive, it was touch and go, for several days, and my daughter did not realize she was in the “land of the living.” My Family’s Close Encounter with Covid-19 By Delegate Delores L. M c Quinn Letters to the Editor Editor: In the Spring, 2020, edition of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine, Sarah Alderson writes about "Two Democratic Constants in a Sea of Historic Change.” It’s the story of the service of Senator Richard Saslaw, who is the longest serving member in the General Assembly, and me who is the longest serving member of the House of Delegates. Lots of changes in all those years with the most positive changes coming this year! Thank you, Sarah, for this important “first draft of history.” Delegate Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum Reston Editor: When I was awake during the night last night, I picked up Virginia Capitol Connections , a publication I’d never seen before. I looked at your piece, expecting to skim it, but found myself drawn to give it a careful read and even a reread. I seldom feel moved enough by something I read (reading is a lifelong mainstay for me too) to write to the author. But I find I keep thinking of your words. I feel you expressed so well, so personally and articulately, the strangeness of this pandemic era. You really captured for me the uncertainty of these days— the freedom as well as the accompanying paralysis. And for me the somberness that I so often feel when I consider those who have lost loved ones (I’ve lost a friend to covid), jobs, and so much more. Thank you for giving voice, so eloquently, to your feelings, which, while unique, also resonate with what many of us are feeling. Here’s to the day when you can tell your mom the pandemic is over! April Moore See My Family’s Close Encounter with Covid-19, continued on page 18 V