One Hundred Days

I’ve always said that it is so important to make every day positive and memorable. 2020 has definitely challenged those words.

On March 1, 2020, the most difficult year of my life began to unfold. That evening my 96-year old grandmother passed away after dealing with so much pain for several months. Andrea and I had already planned a trip to Orlando for my mother-in-law’s (Andrea’s mom’s) unveiling. We had to make a stop in Jacksonville first to attend my grandmother’s funeral. While we were in Orlando, I was aware of COVID-19, but I honestly thought it would die out the same way SARS and H1N1 did. That same day we returned from our trip we sat Shiva in memory of my grandmother at my mom and dad’s house. People came over, but we could not shake hands or hug. I specifically remember Vice President Pence speaking about replacing handshakes with elbow bumps that evening. I knew if the Vice President was opposed to shaking someone’s hand, something was very wrong. This was my first indication that COVID-19 was nothing like SARS or H1N1.

The next week I tried to return to normal. The kids were still in school. I had recently booked two speeches in two high profile cystic fibrosis clinics around the country. I was even going to be speaking to the graduating class of my high school alma mater. I remember driving by my dad as he was walking on a Tuesday as he lives only about 10 houses down from us. He told me “This virus is getting bad. Be careful.” My dad worries a lot more than I do. He used to send me home when we worked together if anyone in the office came down with even a slight sniffle.

Two days later and one hundred days ago, I went to the gym. I brought my own hand sanitizer to appease my parents. I remember that my trainer Jeff seemed a little more nervous than normal and was wiping down every machine like my life depended on it. I guess technically it did and I’m grateful he was so considerate of my health. I had my best workout in a long time. Little did I know that this would be the last public establishment I would visit for at least three and a half months.

On my drive home, my mom called me and begged me to stop putting myself at risk by going to the gym until the virus settles down. I could hear the desperation in her voice and knew she had been crying. I knew that recently losing her mother was more than she could handle so I obliged. I still thought that this virus would soon be extinguished and we could go back to living our normal lives in a few weeks.

Andrea and I had two events we were prepared to attend that weekend. The more I rehashed that phone call with my mom, the more hesitant I was to go anywhere with large groups of people. I told Andrea I did not feel comfortable going. She told me that I didn’t have to worry because both events had been cancelled. The NBA postponed their season that same night. Soon everything was cancelled. This was like some science fiction movie. I was waiting for Godzilla to start destroying the city.

Soon, I learned of the first two people who had contracted COVID-19 in my state and then in my county. Then I learned of people I knew who were infected. Soon I learned of friends who lost family members due to it. I knew this was serious.

The crazy thing is that it has now been one hundred days and the numbers are higher now than when we thought we hit our peak. The COVID-19 task force has not spoken in over a month. President Trump even claims that the virus is “dying out.” Many of our governors continue easing restrictions. It’s as if the people who are supposed to be our leaders are A) not leading and B) pretending like this disease never existed.

Despite everything, in these 100 days of staying home, things aren’t so bad for me. I have been jumping rope more than ever before to help my lungs. We are fortunate to have a pool and for the first time I successfully swam three consecutive lengths without taking a breath, which I would say, is pretty remarkable for someone with a lung disease like cystic fibrosis. I have since achieved this feat four times. I am working out with more weight and researching new exercises to attempt. The kids are now working out with me from time to time. My treadmill broke after nearly fifteen years so we bought a new one. In those two weeks waiting for it, I was able to conquer various steep hills in the Georgia heat and humidity which I never thought I could all while wearing an elevation mask to help my lungs work even harder. Recently a few of my friends have reached out to me and I have started the process of social distancing with them outdoors. It has been a nice change mentally. I have also slowly begun writing a new CF Warrior Project book.

As much as my life isn’t in dire straits, I still don’t plan to spend another 100 days in quarantine. It’s less about me and more about my family. It’s time we all wear masks in public places until the COVID-19 numbers plummet considerably. Please think of those of us who are at high risk along with our families. Dealing with mental health right now is a struggle for many of us. Let’s right the ship so that one hundred days from now we can talk about these ascending case numbers in the past tense.

Until then, please make every day positive and memorable.

What other choice do we have?

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy