I am thankful that right now I don’t have to balance my children’s needs, my client’s needs, and my aging parents. My parents have both taken a celestial departure from this earth, but in just imaging them being around now … I feel my chest tighten.

I am working with several families who have a loved one that someone from my company works with in the metro-DC area. Our goal is to support our clients by assisting, managing in tandem, or by just handling the day-to-day financial matters (bills, home maintenance, long term care and insurance claims). After caring for two parents who had different types of dementia, I am very attuned to how much it means for them to live their life and manage their affairs.

So here we sit with several clients who still live alone in their homes. Some have stopped all external visits from health care managers, cleaning services, and personal care assistants while others doubled down and now have 24/7 help and care in their home.

There is no right or wrong. There is just right for each individual.

The initial two week social distancing came and went. Now we are looking at near isolation for some or escalating care expenses for possibly three months. I am curious to see how we all emerge and adapt after this experience.

What I have noticed in working with adults with cognitive disabilities is that the more they interact with others, the higher they function when we sit with them to do basic bill pay tasks. However, most of those isolated at home are now getting regular calls from the family, and are having to manage in their home all on their own. In calling many of them regularly, they are doing fine and have managed to adapt to our virtual support.

Will any of us win this experiment? Will those on their own emerge stronger after showing us all how they can manage? For those that could not manage on their own, will they do better than those in communities when it comes to exposure to Covid-19?

All I know is that we are all doing the best we can with the information we have at this time, and within the resources we have at our disposal. We may just see how well our American ingenuity shines at a time when modern medicine can’t protect us.

I’m looking forward to being able to see this one in my rear-view mirror. Wondered.