Infusion Introspection

Photo from March infusion - this is how social distancing looks in the public infusion bay.

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Dear Mermaid Family:

Please break your quarantine to take your immunosuppressed child and her asthmatic caregiver to a place where people are known to have COVID-19. You will share a garage and those tiny elevators with people who have COVID-19 with your medically fragile, asthmatic child. You will wait outside in a group, asked to disinfect your hands, and then will be given a face covering that may or may not be effective against viral transmission.

Then you will be asked to go sit for up to seven hours in an unventilated room filled with people who you are told are "asymptomatic" who may or may not have been following sheltering in place orders. Who may or may not have had the privilege of living in the total isolation your family has been in for the past 43 days. And who may or may not be shedding the virus.

The only thing that is certain is that you will do this without PPE that has been proven effective against viral transmission. You will share sinks, bathrooms, water faucets, outlets, chairs, and other high hard contact surfaces that will not be cleaned between uses. You may be required to sit less than six feet apart from people you do not know. You will be asked to trust that it will be "OK". You will be told you are doing the right thing.

We understand that you are aware that there are empty rooms that could be repurposed to minimize exposure. In other words, there are resources to mitigate and minimize your exposure to COVID-19 . We will not be offering those to you.

We hope you will feel safe when you are with us and that you will trust we are doing our best for your family.