Reluctant press secretary while neighbor recovers

Dear Miss Manners: I live in a tightknit community comprised of mostly seniors. It’s the sort of community where neighbors look in on one another.

A good friend who lives several houses away phoned to say that he was sick with what he suspected was the flu, and that he needed help. Because of the possibility of COVID19, I did as much as I could without entering his house, leaving food and medicine on his doorstep.

When his health did not improve, I felt it was necessary to call an ambulance, which arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing, drawing the attention of everyone. He was taken to the hospital, where he luckily tested negative for the coronavirus, but he had suffered a small stroke, all of which he recounted to me.

My neighbors descended on me for answers. When I spoke to my friend in the hospital later, he told me that he appreciated my help, that it had been all right to tell people that he had tested negative for the virus, but that I should not have disclosed the fact that he’d had a stroke.

Now that my friend is in rehab, people are asking me about his condition. What should I do from now on without either violating my friend’s privacy or embarrassing those who are expressing concern?

I did not sign on to be a press secretary, particularly one doing a bad job!

Gentle Reader: Having cared for your neighbor in these crises, you can honorably resign. If he is well enough to criticize, Miss Manners would consider him well enough to take charge of his health reports, or to designate someone else to do so.