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After months of social distancing and staying safer at home, many businesses are starting to open their doors and people are starting to venture outside. However, going back to “normal” will not be what it was before COVID-19. Social distancing, for example, is still something we’re practicing as much as possible and is our new norm. While it feels a bit strange to worry about standing to close to someone else at the grocery store and not to shake the hands of others, this has always been the norm for some of our patients and their families.
When Taylor was born 20 years ago, her family’s lives changed. She was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and frequently visited us at Children’s Wisconsin. CF is a disease which left Taylor with extremely vulnerable lungs. A thick, sticky mucus builds up and allows her lungs to carry dangerous pathogens and bacteria. These harmful germs could affect her, as well as other patients with the disease, which could lead to severe or worsening lung disease.
To keep Taylor and her lungs as safe and healthy as possible, her and her entire family had to instill social distancing practices in their everyday lives. Regularly washing our hands for at least 20 seconds, being careful to not touch our faces or commonly touched objects, wearing masks in hospitals and other high risk places, and staying away from people who are sick are all things that have become normal practices for them.
Much like most of us, Taylor’s parents never worried about social distancing until a major life event forced them into it. Because of COVID-19, we are now being asked to take many of the precautions Taylor and her family have been taking since she was born. Her mom, Stephanie, said, “This was a learning curve for us all. It was a challenging time filled with many emotions and anxiety. I was afraid at first, but realized that we can’t live in a bubble. We need to live our lives but do it in the safest way possible.”
Knowing this change can be hard and a little frightening, Taylor and her family gave us some social distancing tips to help you and your family stay safe.
As we see the community open its doors again, we want to keep everyone safe. We are all responsible for this effort and need to keep practicing social distance to help us stay healthy. Now and always, we are available for parents — virtually and in person — if they have any concerns about COVID-19.
If parents are concerned, they should contact their child’s pediatrician by phone, MyChart message, schedule an appointment or they can talk to a pediatric care provider through our Online Urgent Care video visits.
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