We are just ending our second week of isolation in Puerto Rico on Monday and were told last night by the governor that we will be in isolation for two more weeks, until April 12. She also announced that the rules will be more strict during these next two weeks with the curfew starting earlier, only allowing cars with license plates ending in odd numbers out tree days and the ones ending on even numbers out the other three. Finally, nobody is allowed out and nothing will be open on Sundays. I think this might have come as a shock to some people even though I think it’s the right move and totally necessary.
For me staying home all day has not felt strange or difficult as it seems to have for a lot of people. I immediately went back to my routine from before I had a job, which was workout in the morning, have lunch, then watch TV and relax. But I’m seeing that for a lot of people staying home is not easy and can’t imagine how others do this.
This is why I would like to share what Michelle Munt, TBI survivor and blogger like me, wrote, “this is what it’s like when a brain injury means you can’t drive, and being noise and light sensitive means you can struggle to leave the house at all. And where people might imagine that we can fill our days just sitting on the sofa having coffee with a friend each day, this just isn’t the case. After our friends and family have seen we are very much alive after sustaining a brain injury and we have made it home after being in the hospital, the sense of urgency relaxes. They have lives they need to get back to, and we see less and less of them. Social isolation just seems to creep up on us, it’s not that anyone is intending for it to be that way. Or when we start to see how many mistakes we make, like forgetting names, repeating ourselves over and again, struggling to follow what others are saying, we can feel ashamed and retreat into isolation. Either way, it’s a lonely corner we know all too well.“
I totally agree with her, this is a part of life we have faced before when we can’t drive, can’t go anywhere alone and don’t have jobs. As Michelle says, this is nothing new or difficult forThe only difference is now we are not alone, so while we know how to cope with being at home all day, and there are people who don’t. I think it’s our turn to help them, like they have helped us. We’re all in this together so let’s try to make it easier for everyone, of course always keeping the appropriate distance, washing our hands and staying home.
It’s a difficult time for everyone but if everyone does their part and follows instructions, we can get through this.
I also want to thank Michelle Munt for writing this and letting me quote her and invite all of you to check out her blog Jumbled Brain.
Unstoppable María 