At the conception of this column, over 210,000 U.S. citizens have died of covid19; and even the president admits that he and his wife have contracted the virus. This pandemic is serious stuff.

Like most of you, my heart hurts. Still, I continue to wear my mask, wash my hands frequently, and social distance more than 6 feet when in the presence of others whether at heart rehab or grocery stores. Listening to what the scientist and medical experts say is my daily habit for heart health, now.

I have been thinking of my loved ones who died before the covid19 pandemic.  Wishing that I could see them again, share a new recipe with them or review a crossword puzzle with them does bring all sorts of memories to the forefront. These are human yearnings that anyone who loses a loved one might be thinking about. 

Still, I can’t imagine the pain relatives feel for 210,000 (and counting) mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, wives, husbands and children.  Their breath was extinguished because of the novel pandemic that caught us by surprise from the very first day the traveler arrived in the Northwest with the Corona Virus in tow.

We have tools to use—masks, hand washing, six feet plus distancing. So many of our medical advisors and scientists have chronicled on networks, Facebook, and other streaming sources that by using the tools available to us we can corral the invisible but deadly virus.

The heartbreaking moments that distance us from those who succumb to the virus are hurting our humanity.  In seven years from 1343-1353, the bubonic plague killed 75,000,000 to 250,000,000, according to Wikipedia.org.  That’s about 892,000 per month. Globally in seven months, we have lost about 11,000 (per month) family members to Covid19. Thankfully, we aren’t in that neighborhood of the Black Death yet and hopefully, we will never be.

But our hearts are. We are hurting from losing close family members, or we know someone who lost someone. We are watching some very touching news segments that show some families requisitioning a caterpillar bucket to stand face to face at the second-story window of their mother quarantined at a nursing home. Others gather a family and friend chorus outside another virus victim’s room. Contact me at [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/columnsbynellie to share your story.

Wearing a mask saves lives, according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN and according to doctors in the San Luis Valley at the Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics and SLV Health and Clinics and at Valley-Wide Services and Clinics.

It’s important for us to be part of the solution in snuffing out this virus that is like an invisible monster we watched on Johnny Quest from the 1960s and on reruns on Boomerang.  Johnny knows it’s there and can grab him; but he can’t see or touch it. Likewise, none of us can “see” this haranguing virus. Yet, by wearing a mask properly over the nose and mouth, we can prevent the aerosol particles from our mouth and nose from swimming through the air and latching onto someone else’s breath—or vice versa.  The doctors are also telling us that the mask is not just to protect each of us but is to protect others who might have compromised immune systems or suffer from lung and breathing issues like asthma, emphysema, and allergies.

As we wear masks, wash our hands, socially distance and wait for scientists to successfully find a vaccine, remember those we have lost.