illness
“It Wasn’t Until …,” a memoir by Beth Uznis Johnson. On becoming essential during Covid-19.

“It Wasn’t Until …,” a memoir by Beth Uznis Johnson. On becoming essential during Covid-19.

“Even though the facility had kept the virus out of the building so far, the pandemic was killing my dad.” The author with her father, just days before he died. The first time I saw my father at his memory care facility, after ten weeks of Covid-19 lockdown, he sat at the breakfast table, slumped in his...
“I want everyone to know what’s really happening on the front lines”: video from Jane Soyka’s Covid-19 hospital room.

“I want everyone to know what’s really happening on the front lines”: video from Jane Soyka’s Covid-19 hospital room.

Jane survived Covid-19. Her roommate, Elida, did not. “I‘m not going to start the blame game … except to blame the government for sabotaging the CDC and science.” Stills from Jane’s video. Editors’ Note: Violinist Jane Soyka lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Covid-19 spiked dramatically in November. Her story shows how quickly symptoms can go from mild...
COVID Diary: A Physician Gets Sick.

COVID Diary: A Physician Gets Sick.

Dr. Leslie Hayes took every precaution, but she still caught COVID — her thoughts on contagion, masks, the vaccine, and the holidays. “The virus had gone through 50 people before I got it. Many of them took precautions and then just got unlucky, but some of them were careless or didn’t think the rules applied to them …”...
Desperate times, new measures: Broad Street's Pandemonium Blog.

Desperate times, new measures: Broad Street’s Pandemonium Blog.

  We feel the need to do something. We make masks, we donate money, we protest and demonstrate … and still our spirits yearn for more. Solidarity and fellow-feeling, the companionship of … what we have, which is a computer screen, where most of us are glued all day and night. But there are people...
“You Want Me to Be Happy About Dying” — an essay by Ramona Grigg.

“You Want Me to Be Happy About Dying” — an essay by Ramona Grigg.

Reflections on life, afterlife, and the reality of the dark, dark passage. “Nothing in my life will be erased after I die.” Photo by the author. To most of you out there, I’m old. I’m so old, odds are I’ll probably die soon. You can think on that for a few seconds and move on — easy for you — but me, I’m...