11 minute read
Covid comedown: reflecting on the crisis and the things we missed
Recently, I’ve finally had a bit of time to process what the last couple of months have looked like, and it’s been quite a ride! I now actually have some physical space as my 8-year-old twins have returned to their special school part-time, so I just have my teenager at home studying online (self-directed, apart from when it comes to food).
THIS IS HOW THE COVID CRISIS UNFOLDED FOR OUR FAMILY:
• Watching with disbelief as other parts of the world were affected by COVID-19, thinking ‘it won’t reach
Australia? Will it? No. It might!’ • Eek! It’s reached us. • Now what? • Outbreaks in our community just as my son’s seizures start to return with a vengeance! • ARGH! • Meds increased, phone calls and emails to doctors. Lucky that our doctors are on speed dial. • Decision time – you are all home. Yay, they say! • Next day – ‘stop bloody fighting, this is going to be a long ride.’ • After 4 weeks, we better do some “home schooling”. • Let’s not. We will chop up all the work sheets instead. That’s fine motor done for the day. • My kids sack me as their teacher. Or did I quit? I can’t remember. • OMG my kids are NEVER going to go back to school. • Pivot – work on communication – Install Kids
Messenger. • 65 calls made on the first day to Nana and friends
from school and family in Melbourne. • Second day – more calls to Nana. This time, my son just sets the iPad up and I hear ‘Mikey are you there?’ He ignores her. He doesn’t want to talk. He just wants her to watch him eat! • Nana hangs up. There’s been a lot more of the above, rinse and repeat, so to speak. It feels a long time since the early days of the toilet paper hoarding insanity. The days have been long but the weeks short…or something like that. I didn’t realise how much my kids were taking in regarding the outbreak, until I realised that they WERE TAKING IT ALL IN! The bellows of ‘toilet paper’ and ‘virus’ are new words we’ve added to my son’s growing vocabulary. How much therapy as a family are we going to need after this? One day (well most days), I’d had enough of my husband, so I got in my car (when you could drive decent distances) and took off with the twins in the back. Then I realised, what the hell was I doing and drove back home. He can help me with the twins. We reconciled our differences and moved on. As a family we have experienced isolation and loneliness before, but never in this scenario, on this scale. And it all felt very different to the other times where, due to our life of being a medically complex family with varying disabilities – physical, intellectual, mental health to name a few, we’ve had to adjust over the years. Then, there’s my neurotypical teenager who’s been working from her bedroom, only emerging for cameo appearances throughout the day to bring her dirty dishes out. Will she need therapy after all this? Probably. We started off positively enough, however I didn’t account for the fighting, oh the fighting! The irritability that the kids were experiencing resulted in a WWF session each day. I never really appreciated the routine that we had prior to this whole situation, but now I do – how important it was to keeping us all in balance. A simple routine and a life that is not jam-packed works for us, and it’s the only way we can stay together – if we reduce some of the ‘noise’ – the busyness and commitments to be everywhere and doing everything. We worked hard to get the balance right and we seemed to be starting the year off strong. We were busy, but only with the things we chose. That was something that our mental health doctor told us to work on – let it all go, focus on family and work only. Then slowly add things again. As soon as the scales tip, you will feel it. The overwhelm will creep back and the tightness in the chest will catch you off guard because you haven’t felt it for so long. I never appreciated the hard work that we put in as a family to make our family tick but I know there are others out there who live a similar life to us and ‘get it’. We just miss our family routine – the gentle rhythm of our days and the light activities. I know that in time, when everything is back to ‘normal’ and everyone is busy again, people will move on and the time that we all had to stay home, will be just a distant memory to some. For us though, we will happily be at home, strong in the awareness that this is where our heart is.
TRUTH IS… IT WAS ME WHO GOT TOO USED TO LOCKDOWN LIFE, WHILST THE BOYS WERE THINKING “YESSSSSS BRING THIS ON”. "MUM CAN WE DO THIS FOREVER??!?!"
During lockdown I was fully aware there were parents everywhere struggling to find ‘that balance’. You know, the balance between ‘the routine/learning timetable’ approach and the ‘forget home schooling – teach life skills instead’ approach.
I am just going to put it out there – I was neither of these!! Our approach consisted of our two boys choosing two schoolwork tasks to complete in the morning and then they had the afternoon free to play, enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air; the no rush lockdown life. It was incredible to have quality time together; reassuring – knowing we were in our safe place and relieving – that we were managing to live in each other’s pockets for what seemed like an eternity. We were lucky enough that my husband, Scott, could continue to work and earn regular income, having a job that did not require close contact with anyone. As always, he continued to be the supportive husband and daddy we know and love by working hard and doing those all-important essential shopping trips, fully armed with hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes! I felt like we had it covered, we had it under control and things were good… But then came week 5, along with tears, tantys and full on feelings of “I can’t take this anymore”. We all craved human interaction, not the facetime kind of interaction, the normal face-to-face gig! When the announcement came that schools were reopening here in WA, we were torn between the fear of the Covid 19 virus and the need for some routine, education, and social distanced interaction. When Jay, our youngest son said “Mum can we do this forever” I knew then, it was definitely time to begin our new normal. But I had questions… How do I know they will wash their hands? What if they touch something and then stick a finger in their nose? What if someone breathes on them or stands too close? Will they cling to my leg at the school gates after all this time home with me? Truth is… it was me who got too used to lockdown life, whilst the boys were thinking “Yessssss BRING THIS ON”. I realised, after 6 weeks of teaching the boys about stricter handwashing, social distancing and the potential spread of germs, the boys were well and truly prepared for what was to come. School have implemented guidelines of as much social distancing humanly possible in a school, staff well equipped with sanitiser and regular cleaning of classrooms. Also, staggered school finishes mean less social contact and school pick-up traffic. Hats off to the staff for the hard work they put in to provide a smooth transition back to such a supported new school life. Having EXTREMELY supportive teaching staff welcome your child back into the classroom during a global pandemic, anxiety ridden period has to be half the battle, right?!!??! GUILTY!! I am holding my hands up to the fact that I like to go in to the pre-primary classroom with my son Jay just as I did with his brother Joel (now year 3 who won’t let me near the building). I like to watch him do his thing in class to begin the day and then plant a sloppy kiss on him when us parents have to leave, So the “no parent policy” in the classroom has given me a new perspective on my parenting… leave them to it!! I am aware that all kids are different, as a parent you will know when it’s time to step away and the new rules in school have taught me… this mumma was clearly well overdue stepping away. Now, Jay hops, skips and jumps into school with an amazing sense of glowing independence. There are many things COVID-19 has taught us as a family: 1. With support and unconditional love through testing times, our children gain resilience. 2. Never take LIVING for granted. 3. A new normal is not the end of the world. 4. Appreciate the simple things in life. 5. There are always lessons to be learnt and challenges to face – be sure to get through them together.
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BUNBZPHKIT
Introducing the SPC ProVital Range of Level 4 Pureed Fruit Cups and Diced Fruit in Juice are now available for purchase in the community thanks to our partnership with Atlas McNeil Healthcare. Our fruit is hand-picked from the pristine Goulburn Valley in Australia. We have designed our cup to be accessible for those with fine motor difficulties, making it easy to open so you can enjoy your nutritious serve of fruit. Our range features products that have been specifically developed to meet specific health requirements caused by conditions such as dysphagia, constipation and malnutrition.
DYSPHAGIA
You may experience difficulty swallowing food and or drinking fluids for a number of reasons. It is often caused by a number of age related conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s disease motor neuron disease and dementia. If you have trouble swallowing food and fluids, you may be at risk of poor nutrition and dehydration. A speech pathologist may have recommended changes to the textures of foods or drinks1. If you are on a Smooth Puree Diet (Level 4), then the SPC ProVital Puree Fruit Range is suitable for you.
CONSTIPATION
Constipation can be caused by many lifestyle factors, including a change in routine, not eating enough fibre, not drinking enough fluids and as a result of getting older. Making some small changes to your lifestyle can help with treating constipation. These changes include increasing the amount of fibre in your daily diet, drinking more fluids and regular exercise. Good sources of fibre include wholegrain cereals, fruits, vegetables and legumes2. SPC ProVital Fibre Right Apple Prune Puree is a good source of fibre, providing 5.8g fibre per serve.
MALNUTRITION
Your Dietitian may recommend extra Energy and Protein in your diet, based on your individual needs. You may need extra energy and protein if you have recently lost weight, had a loss of appetite, have experienced muscle wasting or have poor healing wounds3. SPC ProVital Fibre Right + Protein Apple Puree provides a good source of protein (10.3g per serve), 668Kj of energy and is also an excellent source of fibre (7.0g per serve).
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Abri-Flex Junior is a disposable pull-up style continence aid that is discreet, comfortable and can be worn just like normal underwear. Designed specifically to fit teenagers and children aged between 5-15 years. Abri-Form Junior is a disposable continence pad specifically designed to fit teenagers and children aged between 5-15 years. Winged for comfort and security, absorbent and fully breathable.
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