Pandemic Blues

A Father Lay Dying

The father and breadwinner

of the family lay alone in the

hospital bed. He was hooked

up to a ventilator and as a tear

fell from his eyes, he wondered

how his family would survive

the pandemic which has taken

so many lives.

 

Meanwhile, at home his wife

gathered her two teenage sons

and daughter around her. She

told them to be careful as they

were not out of the woods yet.

 

Even though the vaccines were

starting to get distributed, it still

did not mean that people were 

completely safe as there was still

a chance one could become

infected.

 

People still had to wear masks and

stay at least six feet apart when

speaking with each other, as well

as wash their hands and use hand

sanitizer.

 

La abuela, who lived with them lit

up a candle to la Virgen de Guadalupe

for her son. A friend of the father had

been coughing and had a fever a few

days before the father had felt I’ll.

 

But, due to the Mexican machismo,

the father did not want to go to the

doctor. Then one night he began to

have labored breathing and the family

had to call 911.

 

The emergency room at the hospital

was getting filled when the family arrived,

to check on the father. But they were

told that he had been admitted and that

no one could see him.

 

Two weeks in the hospital and the

family received the good news that the

father would be home in another week

or so. The family was still in quarantine

even though they had tested negative.

 

Since they could not attend mass the

family prayed at home, and the kids

were doing their school work online.

They knew that Hispanics were the

ones getting hit the hardest by Covid

-19 so, they decided to avoid being

too close with other people.

 

This was the hardest part to bear as

Hispanics love to socialize But, it was

far more important to safeguard ones

health and they knew that whenever

things returned to normal, they would

all be better off.

 

So, the teens did online studies, played

board games, and spent time learning

new things on YouTube. They picked

up various skills just from watching

how to videos, and reading eBooks.

 

Even the mother picked up some new

cooking ideas and learned some cool

shortcuts for her sewing hobby. As for

the abuela? She still, keeps lighting a

candle to la Virgen, every chance she

gets, because that’s something that will 

never change.

 

Frank Solis 2021

All Rights Reserved