Showing love to the ‘grandest’ people in this pandemic
SEPTEMBER is the month we celebrate Grandparents’ Day. My maternal grandmother, Ama Inang, also just celebrated her birthday last week. My kids prepared a simple video greeting for their great grandmother, ending with Meagan playing her drums. It made me think of many of us who are worried on how we can properly care and support our parents and grandparents during this pandemic.
It has been reported by agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that older adults are more prone to developing serious complications from Covid-19. Johns Hopkins Medicine, in an article titled “Coronavirus and Covid-19: Caregiving for the Elderly” reviewed by Dr. Alicia Arbaje, MD, MPH, PHD, says that “research [shows] that adults 60 and older, especially those with preexisting medical conditions, especially heart disease, lung disease, diabetes or cancer, are more likely to have severe—even deadly—coronavirus infection than other age groups.”
This means we need to take extra precaution in various ways. According to www.dispatchhealth.com, the best way is to limit your own risk. They recommend washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, as well as maintaining a 6-foot distance while wearing a face mask when in contact. This prevents the exposure on the off chance that one has been exposed to the Covid-19 virus. They also recommend cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in one’s home regularly. This includes kitchen counters, tables, doorknobs, etc. In our case, this includes my dad’s workplace and accessories he uses for Zoom meetings. It is better to postpone unnecessary doctor visitations, or switch to online consultations when possible.
Arbaje also cautions on being in crowds, and if you cough or sneeze, to do so into the bend of your elbow or into a disposable tissue. Keep your hands away from your face, as well as limit in-person visits, while keeping in mind that social isolation may also have a negative impact on older people’s immunity and mental health.
In our experience with my youngest sister, after ensuring the safety measures mentioned earlier for my dad, we were also very careful on preventing social isolation and anxiety due to the much limited mobility and socialization my dad was used to before.
From my own research from www.hopkinsmedicine.org and Unicef, below are the several ways we can provide social support to our seniors at this time:
Check on our loved ones regularly through phone calls. Send them messages on any instant messaging platform.
Leave notes on their front door to let them know someone is thinking about them.
Cook something for them and leave it outside their door, but do let them know in advance. Remember to always give it in a disposable container, sanitize the outside of the container with disinfectant wipes.
Run errands for them.
Buy them their daily essentials of food and other grocery items, and even pet needs, good for at least two weeks.
Ensure the medical supplies they need for one to three months are stocked up.
Send them a little reminder about their medication. Teach them options for video chats using smartphones, laptops or tablets.
Encourage them to initiate telephone calls with friends and family.
Schedule virtual visitation or family meet-ups into their routines.
Identify one person nearby who they can rely on to care for them in case you are not available.
Most important is to inform them that if they develop symptoms such as fever with cough, fever and/or shortness of breath, to call their family doctor, helpline or the nearest hospital.
With many houses of worship closed, we can direct them to online services.
Keep them involved by giving them projects to work on like organizing old photos. It also might be a good time for them to share their favorite family recipes.
Some ways we apply the tips above in our own home include encouraging my dad to cook his specialties, then sharing them with us; giving my dad surprise gifts like how Meagan sent her gift with a cartoon of them with their Chinese names; celebrating occasions together in Zoom with specially designed virtual backgrounds (we even do virtual karaoke at times); and constantly updating each other in our family Whatsapp group. We look forward to our end-of-theweek virtual meeting, where we update each other about my dad’s ongoing projects, then my kids and husband would chat with my dad, then ending each session with a humorous online shopping group session of the new food finds of my youngest sister, Joan.
I can say that as much as we truly miss spending physical time with each other as a family in this pandemic, our concerted effort and journey to constantly find new and unique ways to still have fun together have been priceless.