NROP: How Hugging Became an Extreme Sport.

It almost broke my heart the other day, when I read about a woman dying without ever holding her newborn child. The mother got diagnosed with COVID-19 days before giving birth to baby Heaven. Upon delivery, the child was taken away as a safety precaution. Once the patients got discharged home, it was recommended that the woman quarantine away from the rest of the family. Even though she requested that her baby girl be in the room with her, the husband would not agree. Everyone thought she was going to recover. However, the very next day, she returned to the hospital after having trouble breathing. The woman ended up suffering from a heart attack and brain damage (How long was she not breathing for?), and had subsequently died. Without embracing a child she carried for nine months and then birthed. How agonizing must that be?

I wonder if the woman was angry at her husband for not letting her hold the baby once they returned home.

I wonder if he feels guilty at all for not granting her such a basic privilege.

I wonder if her condition worsened because of how upset she was about the situation regarding her newborn.

Not being able to be there with others this year touched me personally. I was unable to attend my father’s funeral due to mandatory quarantine. I was unable to console others due to the very same reason. I was unable to visit another family member at a seniors’ home due to their strict lock-down policy. They ended up passing away. No doubt they felt alone and forgotten…

One of my fellow bloggers recently shared they attended a funeral through Zoom due to pandemic-related restrictions. What strange times we live in.

A friend of a friend was unable to visit their parent at the hospital (earlier in the year) due to the no-visitors policy. All they could do was to rely on what the nurses told them over the phone. Being able to get a status update through the phone is an amazing thing (I had used that in the past myself). But, that should only be a supplement. (Of course, if your circumstances are different and you are not able to be there in person, that might be the best and ONLY course of action for you.) Usually, whenever possible, people gather by the patient’s bedside to observe the care first-hand. How do you know what to advocate for when you are not there to witness the situation. Back to those friends of friends. They were unable to get a clear answer of what was going on, what the patients was treated for, etc. The family member, being elderly, was not able to communicate everything to them. Unfortunately, the patient did not make it. The family was devastated that they could not be there to observe, to support, to say goodbye.

These are just a few examples, but I am sure there are more of such stories. So much heartache and pain. I am not an overly affectionate people. I much prefer a handshake, a wave, or a simple nod to a hug. Am I the only one to find hugging those you meet for the first time strange? Hugs are a to-go-to method for many. For when they spend time with their family, when they meet someone they have not seen in a long time, when they get introduced to strangers. Many people count on hugs to make them feel better. To help them feel assured, cared for, and loved.

When I wrote about Santa coming to town, most of you agreed that interacting with the jolly old fellow through a plexi-glass was anticlimactic. That was how I felt about this recent article on a “new invention” in Italy. This plastic curtain with sleeves at various heights gives young patients the ability to hug their parents without risking COVID-19 exposure. Two people can hug and touch with only a thin layer of plastic between them. The material allows for the two people hugging to feel each other’s body heat, which I guess helps make the embrace feel more “real.”

While I might not be as appreciative of the curtain as some, I do have to applaud the hospital workers who managed to put this together for the sake of their parents. As with any other profession, there are people who just do their job (if even that), and those who put their hearts and souls into what they do. Hospitals are places that no one is fond of. Normally, if you are there, you are having a miserable time. Yet, some of the staff members go above and beyond to make you feel better and to grant some of your wishes. This is such an example. Many kids supposedly expressed their desire (in a letter to Santa) to hug their family while they were being hospitalized. And so their wish was granted. I can only imagine how scary it must be a young kid to be admitted to a hospital and not able to have their parents hold their hands along the way.

A quick Internet search revealed other places coming up with similar solutions. For example:a memory care facility in Washington, or a teacher in Brazil.

On an unrelated, more ridiculous, less important note – Did you hear about Ryan Reynolds and Khloe Kardashian complaining about their first world problems? Apparently, the toys their kids got (unsure if from them or others) required some assembly. Back in the day, putting things together was a great way to spend some quality time with your child. Now, we want everything to be ready to go. Khloe realized that her nails might not be practical for simple folk living because they make handling small parts difficult. I could not help but sigh. Maybe this is my golden ticket? I posted a Tweet, announcing my toy putting together skills. You buy the toy(s), fly me to your house, pay me to assemble them, and voila! Everyone is happy!

• What do you think of the “Hugging Curtain?”
• Have you had the chance to try it out?
• Would you want to try it out if given the chance?
• Have you come up with your own way to hug others safely? (Why did this make me think of condoms?)
• What do you think of the problems celebrities faced during Christmas?
• Did you have to put any toys together this Christmas?

Stay golden,

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