VT Works

So here we are – sheltering in place.

There was a time in my life I never imagined this could happen. Not in my hometown. Not here. Not in the place where I grew up. A place that, for me, carries something of a magical essence. And yet, here we are. Home. Staying as far from others as we can. Maintaining a social distance. Hoping like hell we haven’t already been exposed to this feckless virus, yet trying to better understand what it will look like and feel like if we have; and preparing for it. The good news is the vast of majority of us haven’t been exposed and those who have will likely be just fine, experiencing little more than moderate symptoms. But it’s the not knowing, the empty anticipation, that is the worst part.

As news of the COVID-19 fallout continues to escalate, we all arrived at work yesterday morning unsure of where the next hunk of our new reality would land. Slowly but surely, life has been changing, evolving, and becoming a touch more frightening as our new normal gains definition. We have now been reduced to sitting at home, waiting for this to pass. There are no wild fires approaching, the is no hurricane bearing down, there is no tangible evidence of anything – just reports of an invisible enemy which threatens us all.  In my parents and grandparents era, the enemy was a bit easier to spot. It was some hated faction in a far off land. This past week, while speaking to a few dear friends via text message as we were trying help each other make sense of this madness, the words “martial law” were included our the conversation; something I wouldn’t have anticipated even one month ago. Times have changed, and my goodness, so have we.

Not long after yesterday’s news conference from the White House, the county where I live, as well as the five neighboring counties were essentially placed on lock down. We are instructed to stay home, making only the necessary movements to gather essentials from the grocery store or pharmacy – nothing else. Optometry was deemed to be non-essential healthcare, and just like that, our office closed. As it stands, we are targeting April 8th for our re-opening.

As the evening settled in, another piece of our new harsh reality set in as COVD announced the cancellation of their Annual Meeting. An announcement, which after the progression of the worldwide news in last few days seemed to be nothing more than a foregone conclusion, yet somehow reading the words made the reality of it sting just a bit more. Included in his message, COVD’s President, Dr. Dan Press wrote:

This decision will have significant financial implications for COVD. Our programs and opportunities thrive, in large part, from income received from our Annual Meeting. Because of that, your tax deductible donation* to COVD is meaningful now more than ever.  Please join our dedicated past presidents in donating your total meeting registration amount or more to COVD’s General Fund. 

COVD has been such pillar in the Vision Therapy world since its 1971 inception. There is no way they could have anticipated these circumstances, just like there is no way we should let the organization pay the price. Now is our chance to support them through donations and generosity.

For those interested, our office has been working to set up “virtual visits” for some of our patients, similar to FaceTime, to maintain weekly contact. Aside from continuity of care, it’s a small slice of normalcy we can offer them during this period of turbulence. Obviously, this won’t work for everyone, but hopefully for most. There are HIPPA guidelines as well as state board ramifications to doing this, so if you intend to go that route, please check in with both bodies. In my limited research, both VSee and Doxy meet the HIPPA requirements for conducting visits in this way, but again, please do your own checking rather than relying on my advice.

So for the next three weeks I’ll be sitting at home catching up on projects. The type of projects whose conversation usually include the words “someday, when I have time”; well, time is suddenly in abundance.

We keep moving forward, albeit inches at a time right now. Like the old saying goes, there’s only one way to eat an elephant…one bite at a time.

My hope is write to you often during this little siesta, if for no other reason, to maintain my own personal sanity. There are many posts I’ve started and never finished, ideas I’ve had rolling around but never organized, and pieces of the Vision Therapy world I wonder if anyone else has ever struggled with that I’d like to share. That’s what I’ll be doing.

So stay tuned, friends. Brain purge ahead.

Wishing you all peace, health, and clarity during this difficult time.