Tag: Coronavirus

Learning Together During the Coronavirus

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I am an educator by profession. Although I switched from classroom teaching to becoming a patient advocate after a second breast cancer diagnosis and successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction, I am always energized when I can learn something new. Living through the global pandemic of 2020 has been one adjustment after the other for everyone across the world. It has been downright frustrating for me some days. This week, I felt uplifted. Some new tools and ideas opened up for me. I am grateful a world pandemic can also result in learning together during the coronavirus. Using Instagram LIVE During the Coronavirus Instagram has been a busy platform during the past few weeks. Those little circles at the top of your Instagram feed have been highlighted in red more than I have ever noticed. Notifications of IG LIVE have been frequently lighting up my phone. What is up? I turned Continue Reading →

The Woman Behind the Mask: Coronavirus

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This is the third week I am writing my weekly blog on the topic of the coronavirus. The rapidly evolving events of this global pandemic have caused staggering changes in statistics. We seem to grapple daily with how to deal with the spread of the virus. Wearing a face mask was the most visible symbol coming out of Wuhan, China where the coronavirus began in late December. At the beginning of March here in America, the consensus was not to wear a mask in public. Now in the first days of April, a month later, we are seeing a flood of masks being worn in America. A movement has begun to make homemade masks. This blog is dedicated to a friend, the woman behind the mask, and why she began making them during the coronavirus. Why We Transitioned from No Mask to Wearing Masks During the Coronovirus The growth of Continue Reading →

A Community of Strength Through the Coronavirus Outbreak

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I continue to keep up with the evolving changes as each day passes and numbers, plans, surgeries, and lives change due to the coronavirus outbreak. I think it’s fair to say we are called on to change in ways none of us are prepared for. Here is what happened in the past week and what I am grateful for, sad about, and what I have witnessed firsthand in the breast reconstruction community, a community of strength through the coronavirus outbreak. Breast Reconstruction Surgeries Cancelled During the Coronavirus I spent a great deal of time planning for my DIEP flap surgery in the fall of 2014. I traveled for my breast reconstruction. I had to arrange flights for myself and my husband. Asking friends and family to take off work or come to help was a tough one for me. Then there was the anticipation. Oh, the anticipation! All of that Continue Reading →