Even in the Time of COVID
Even in the Time of COVID is a book of poetry I wrote as a tribute to my mother who perished from COVID-19 on November 27, 2020. It is about our lives during the pandemic.
In the months after lockdown of her nursing home, and prior to her death, we had many video visits, and I learned to play (single-handedly, lol!) a collection of tunes on a Celtic harp to entertain her. She had vascular dementia, and though I am thankful she remembered who I was until the end, we needed a fun way to interact. She had no short-term and essentially no long-term memory - except for music and songs. She so enjoyed listening to me play, and we also had some favorite sing-along songs she loved and remembered the lyrics to.
Thankfully she was asymptomatic for over a week after her positive test result (on Friday 13th) then suddenly declined. She was never intubated, and her final days were well attended by hospital and then hospice staff, both of which kept her well-medicated for comfort.
In her final days our family was able to have extended video visits, during which she slept and we expressed our love and support for her and for each other. We held a video vigil during her final hours.
From all this comes the title for the poem I wrote the day after her death, which is also the title of the book. Here is that poem, along with a photo taken during the vigil in the hours before she died.
Even in the Time of COVID
Even in the Time of COVID
Welcome 2021 (Post about my Mom's passing. It has a short bit of me playing harp.)
