I thought I better write about this and get it in the blog before I forgot the events that transpired over a very short amount of time that will certainly make history and give our kids something to tell their kids about someday.

Lets start in February when Robb and I flew to Mexico. A virus know as coronavirus was having devastating effects in mainland China. A travel ban had been issued and no one could fly to or out of mainland China. About that time they were also bringing some Americans from China to Camp Ashland which is an air force base to be quarantined for 14 days and a couple of the people that had tested positive were at the biocontainment area of UNMC. It still seemed like a far off problem but it did make we a little nervous flying because I am a germaphobe. I had bought a pack of Clorox wipes and mini hand sanitizers to take on the plane. I had also taken a couple masks from work if things got worse and we needed them for the plane. Although, Robb said he wouldn't sit with me on the plane if I was the weirdo with the mask on. We traveled to Mexico and back with no problems. We did get a little pink sticker placed on our passports confirming that we hadn't travelled to mainland China in the last 14 days. We did see a handful of people wearing masks but not the vast majority of people.

Beginning in March I told Robb that it would make me feel better if instead of buying groceries one week at a time, that he would buy for at least 2 weeks at a time. He thought I was a little crazy and he was frustrated because he really liked his new way of buying groceries and it was saving us money and cutting down on the amount of food we wasted. To make me happy he purchased 2 weeks worth of groceries, ibuprofen, Tylenol and a couple other meds and 2 large packs of water. He also called me a prepper.

March 6: I had my scheduled hysterectomy at Bryan hospital and everything was fairly normal except we had been out of the country within 30 days so we had a lot of screening questions regarding being out of the country and if we were having any symptoms. All nurses had coronavirus on their radar but it still seemed like it was something far away from us.

March 12: Bryce, Bob and Susie fly to Indiana for the Big 10 tournament games. I am nervous about him flying because there have now been reports of coronavirus in California and Washington State and it is slowly making its way across the United States.  I gave Bryce strict instructions to wipe down his spot on the plane and to wash his hands before eating anything. Everywhere has started stressing the importance of handwashing and not touching your face. You can no longer buy hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes or Sanitizing wipes, and toilet paper.
Bryce and the Lutz's get to Indiana just fine and are super excited to go to the games. In the mean time we hear that the spread of coronavirus is becoming more wide spread and that social distancing (a new idea for all of us) needs to start happening. Someone from NE was diagnosed and it was a case that was due to traveling but she had unknowingly exposed a large amount of people at a Special Olympics Basketball tournament.  Boys State Basketball decides to restrict spectators to immediate family only. This came as a shock to everyone considering that it all seemed a bit over done at this point.
While Bryce is watching the Nebraska vs Indiana game the news came out saying that all further games would be played without spectators. Bryce handled it with a lot of grace but was really disappointed. During the last 4 minutes of the game Fred Hoiberg the coach, who had appeared sick during the game, was taken to a local hospital and tested for coronavirus. Thankfully it was negative because otherwise he would have become the poster boy for What not to do if you are Sick! The Husker players were quarantined in the locker room until his test came back negative. Coronavirus is starting to get the attention of everyone in the US. The NCAA games cancel as well as all college sports.

March 14: We get news that school will cancel for Monday and Tuesday to make a plan to move to online learning, should that become necessary. Our kids are over joyed that they will be getting 2 extra days off. Bryce, Bob and Susie get home on Saturday. Thankfully after all that had transpired in such a short amount of time, they decided to forgo the flying and rented a car and drove home. Robb and I are still joking about how we would handle all the kids home for a week if that is what it comes to. I am a little obsessed with the national press conferences and the updates about Lincoln specifically. The kids have a couple friends over and life goes on about the same as it always has, aside from the fact that we all wash our hands so much now that they are cracked and bleeding.

March 15: This may be the shit has hit the fan moment. Multiple people in Omaha have now been diagnosed and they are starting to report community spread of the virus. Their aren't enough testing kits to really know how many people have it but they fear that the positive tests don't really reflect our current problem. The decision is made that Norris will not have school for the entire week. I am trying to let that sink in with all the other stressful thoughts that are clouding my mind. Reports out of Italy are alarming and they are about 10-14 days ahead of us. Their hospitals are over run with sick patients and they are having to choose who lives and dies much like battle field triage. They are sending the US desperate messages that we need to do more now or it will be too late. The Governor wants gathers limited to 50 or less people and encourages people to stay at home and try to work from home.

March 16: Day One of Homeschooling: I never would have thought that I would say this but organized and scheduled time with the kids actually went really well. There was an online schedule that some homeschool mom had posted and I chose to use that. We took a walk in the morning, had academic time, screen time, free time, chore time and active time. The day went really well.

March 17: St Patricks Day: They have now cancelled school until April 6. Gatherings are limited to 10 or less people. They are urging people to take immediate action to stop the spread of Covid-19 by staying home, working from home and cancelling activities. All dance classes, tumbling classes, non essential doctor appointments, school activity, class and meeting have been cancelled. It is really weird! We have more family time than any of us know what to do with but so far so good. I ordered Walmart groceries a couple days ago and I picked them up today. They are now out of meat, bread, eggs, milk, rice and many staples. It is starting to feel a little zombie apocalypse like.

March 19: Things are starting to get a little scary! New York, California, Washington State are all in a state of crisis. They don't have enough ventilators, staff, testing kits, PPE. The president has deployed the Navy floating hospitals to the areas to help the hospitals. A state of emergency has been declared for the United States. This opens up the option to put patients in non patient areas, employ 2d year med students as doctors, let doctors and nurses work in states that they aren't licensed in, bring nurses and doctors out of retirement to work and many other things. As a nurse I feel like a bomb is about to go off but I don't know when or where. I am at home on medical leave right now but when I go back how bad is it going to be. We hear the worst of course but is that just the reality. Will I go back to work at the surgery center? Or will be overflow for critical patients? Will we have the PPE needed to not catch this and bring it home to our families? Will it be an option to come home or will be mandated to stay at the hospital? Right now I am bored out of my mind but I am soaking in all the family time and down time that I can because I don't think any of us know what is to come.

March 23:
My mom is scheduled for surgery at Bryan hospital and it has been decided that she should go ahead with her surgery. At this time elective surgeries will stop on March 25 so we are sneaking this in under the wire. I am nervous about having her come since we have been really good at isolating but she has still been working. Surgery day goes just fine and it is still business as usual at the hospital. The only differences are that it is quiet. They have sent home everyone that they can and most unnecessary things have been cancelled for postponed at this point. The nurse she has is very sweet and we chat about what is to come. No one is wearing masks yet and not much is different.

March 24: I receive word from work that I am not allowed to leave the county for any reason. This it to help control the spread of Covid-19 and hopefully not infect myself and then pass it on to patients and coworkers. We also received word that our hours would be decreased by 50-75% since elective surgeries are stopping until further notice. I'm not sure how to feel about being an "essential employee" and yet being practically furloughed for the time being.

March 30: It has been a lot of days that we have been social distancing now. Robb and I went out for drive through margaritas because really how often can you get a margarita out a drive through window? It's starting to sink in that this isn't going to be short term. The schools have called off for the year which is sad. Emerson is sad to not see her teacher again. The boys seem ok with it but they miss their friends. Abby is hard to read. She seems sad to be missing dance and volleyball and really misses her friends but she also seems to be happy about having family time too.

April 6: We have settled into a schedule of homeschool, something I never would of thought I would be saying. As of this week the school has put out new content and it is no longer reviewing things. Let the challenge of "teaching" begin. The attorney general said this week will be our Pearl Harbor, our 9/11 he said it will be one of the hardest and saddest weeks in the U.S ever as death tolls steadily increase into the 10,000 range. New York is still be hit very hard as well as Washington, Florida and Louisiana. We have been trying to mostly order our groceries but meat is no longer available on the pick up order so we have had to go in to get that. Today the CDC announced that they recommend all citizens wear a mask when going out in public. I feel like I have been taken back to a time that I never really lived in. People with sewing skills are being sought out to make masks, you can't buy yeast anywhere because people are making their own bread and I am writing my own lesson plans and homeschooling my kids. Hopefully a scenario that never gets played out again!