Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Elizabeth, East Cork

Contributor

Elizabeth

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Cork; 2020s:

Date

20 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

I live on the outskirts of Midleton near Dungourney in the countryside.

USUAL LOCATION

Same as above

Q. 1 STAGES

I suppose when I first heard about the vaccine being in China I totally presumed that it would never spread to Europe or Ireland. I really felt it would stay on that side of the world even though it was quiet scary that China had gone into lockdown and very unreal to imagine how it was working. I felt it probably worked in China i.e. telling people they couldn't go out because they have a different set-up to us and they kind of have to do what they are told but I would never have thought something like that would work in Europe or Ireland. The next stage was when I started hearing about Italy, I must say I was devastated and shocked especially as it took control of the country very quickly. It now felt like reality. Hearing of the number of people dying every day was just unbelievable. It was really hard not to listen to news every day and it was very upsetting!!! I felt it would now spread across Europe but I hoped beyond hope that we might be ok being an island as I felt if it came to Ireland we wouldn't be able to handle it at all. When the first case was announced in Ireland it made me feel very frightened. It felt like a futuristic movie!!!!! On 12th March I will never forget listening to Leo Varadkar's address to the nation. I listened to it at work with my colleagues and it was like an announcement that we were going to war, it was weird, you could hear a pin drop, and it was something else. I did think he sounded very good though, he was emotional and sincere and he didn't sound any bit superior or he didn't pretend that he was going to sort it all out. He told it how it was and from the start he sent the message that we were all in this together and we couldn't beat it without standing together. He just sounded so human and he sent out a confident vibe as well which was so needed.
So the next stage was the lockdown which is where we are still at. I feel for myself and my family we can take the positives out of this time. I'm here at home with my husband and my teenage children and most of the time it's really nice. It's a time that I will never get back again with my family and I am trying to cherish it. I work from home every day and I'm trying to motivate myself to do things that I've been putting on the long finger so as I say we're doing fine. Some days if you listen to the news you can feel forlorn but we don't listen to the news everyday as it’s pointless. I have a daughter in London who is studying to be a nurse and who works as a Health Care Assistant for the NHS. I am very nervous that she will get sick and there'll be no-one over there to look after her but I just keep hoping that she'll be ok. It's different though for my mother, her life has been turned upside down. My father passed away less than 2 years ago so she now lives alone however I and my sisters have been staying most nights with her since my father died but now we can't. One of us goes to the garden to see her every day and to make sure she's ok or to see if she needs anything but it's so hard for her. Her day is so long, she has no focus as in her normal life she had 2 grandchildren who stayed with her for half the week every week and one of us were coming to stay at night so she cooked every day for someone, she walked to the shop or to mass, she got on the bus to town and now she's not allowed outside!!!!! I feel sorry for the elderly, at this hour of their life they shouldn't have to deal with such a life and death situation for them.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

Everyday life has changed dramatically for me but in some ways its better now even thought I wouldn't want to like this life forever. I had to get up mornings between 6.00 and 6.30 am to get my children to school and to get to work as the traffic to Cork everyday was horrific. Now I'm working from home so I don't get up till 8.00 am, I take the dog for a walk down the field which an idyllic setting, the scenery is just beautiful and it's such a lovely way to start the day. I work from 9.00 - 2.00 pm in my front room. The children get up but they are old enough to look after themselves so I am left to get on with things. After work I might do some work in the garden, I might continue on a project that I've was working on or I might do housework. We have had a few birthdays during this time, nieces and nephews and it is weird not being able to celebrate with them or see them but I have been able to post cards and I have video called them on the day so that was nice. It was our son's birthday as well and he definitely missed having a night out with his friends but as a family we celebrated it really nice, we ordered some presents online, we baked a cake and we spent the day together which was so nice and he seemed happy too. We had no funerals thank God as I'd say that would have been awful but we did have our brothers anniversary which we always come together to mark and that was hard!!!

Q. 3 GROUPS

I mentioned above I think the elderly have it tough especially old people who live alone, it's awful. It's a little easier for older couples but I'm sure it’s still hard as they are not seeing their children or grandchildren and they are not allowed to go out, it's unbelievable and they have to do it as it's a matter of life or death. If my mother got this virus and ended up in hospital ALONE, oh my God we'd die!!! She's 82, reared 10 children, 2 with special needs, and buried her son and now her husband and if she at the end of life died alone, oh my God how devastating!!!!!!! And that is the reality!!!!!!!! I think another group that would find it really hard is families that live in an abusive relationship. The children must find it so hard that they have no escape to school and the person being abused can't escape to work or to see their mother or whatever excuse they'd make to get out of the house. Their lives must be soooo tough at the moment. Also I think families that have people working in hospitals or nursing homes must find things very tough as you have to go to work but they must feel that they are endangering their families every time they come home.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

There are lots of jokes going around about couples in lock down - day 1 and then day 2 and so on until they are fit to murder each other or pictures of people after getting really heavy during the lockdown, quite funny!! People are talking quite a lot about the break the environment is getting which is really positive. Also, people are hoping that our priorities will change for the future and we'll value each other more going forward.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

No Response.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

No Response.

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response.

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

No Response.

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

No Response.

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

No Response.

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

No Response.

age

51-69

gender

Female