i’ve been thinking about why on earth people aren’t taking physical distancing in the us more seriously. and i’ve got an idea. i think the majority of americans assume that if they need it, the hospital will be there and the doctor will be able to save them. i’m here to tell you, this is not the case.

when i lived in india, i got dengue.

for those of you who might not know, dengue is a disease you get from mosquitos. there is no cure. millions of people are infected every year, and 1% die. the more times you get dengue, the more likely you are to die.

i have never been that sick in my entire life! and i’ve had weird things happen to me and been sick a LOT, so this is really saying something. i was flat out, no energy, could only drag myself to the bathroom and doctor for 10 whole days. even after that, i was still not great but on the mend. it was an awful experience and i don’t wish it on anyone.

the entire time i was sick, i was just hoping that my body and immune system would be strong enough to fight it so i could survive. i would go to the doctor every other day for blood work to see how much dengue was in my blood and how my white blood cells were doing. there was nothing else the doctors could do. all they could do was watch. and i had to hope my body was strong enough to fight.

luckily, i survived.

if you haven’t had this kind of experience, i think you just assume that the hospital will always be there and the doctors will save you. but sometimes, they don’t know how to save you. that’s what is happening with covid-19 right now. we know it’s here. we know people are getting sick. we know people are dying. but doctors don’t know how to save people. it’s a new virus. and we don’t have enough knowledge, or supplies, to fight it.

so PLEASE, do your part. stay home, wash your hands a lot and make sure you are keeping a safe physical distance away from others. this will give the hospitals and doctors and nurses and scientists more time to develop a treatment and hopefully one day, a vaccine. in the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy and STAY HOME!