Four weeks ago, I wrote a piece called 5 Truths About This Moment In Time. They were:

1. Viruses Are Ubiquitous (Everywhere, On Every Surface Indoors & Outdoors Throughout Earth)
2. Human Touch and Connection Are Essential For Health & Healing
3. Loneliness Is Already An Epidemic – and is estimated to rise during times of social distancing.
4. Homes Are For Health & Healing, Not Hospitals and Nursing Homes
5. The More We’re Exposed To, The Stronger Our Immune System

Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi gathered their own data over the last two months and did an hour- long briefing (now removed after 5 million views) detailing the lack of science, immunological, biological and physiological evidence surrounding the stay at home mandates, mask wearing and the consequences of hyper-disinfecting. Watch it here, it is refreshing and validating for anyone who knows and understands medicine and basic fundamental science. Now to distill it to a ‘protocol’ for all so that we can get back to life as UNusual.

Three weeks ago, Dr. Knut Wittowski, an epidemoiologist and biostatistician, who has been widely sited in journals and medical literature said this:

“With all respiratory diseases, the only thing that stops the disease is herd immunity. About 80% of the people need to have had contact with the virus, and the majority of them won’t even have recognized that they were infected, or they had very, very mild symptoms, especially if they are children. So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated,” 

Knut Wittowski

Summary: “Going outside is what stops every respiratory disease”

Dr. Ben Lynch talked about how this is reductionist medicine at its worst:

Focus on a virus that is hardly an issue for 99.7% of the global populations.

Shut the world down to protect the sickest of the sick who are vulnerable to everything and harm the lives of the 99.7% of the global population.

Reductionist medicine is what has been practiced for too long and is in full effect now. We reduce the treatment to one symptom and forget about the rest. We focus on a physical solution to a health issue/symptom/disease that could be due to a myriad of imbalances or disruptions. It could be too much stress, a childhood adverse event, anger, trauma, unable to forgive someone from 20 years ago, smoking, screen time, being bullied, isolation, processed food, hating your job, no longer wanting to be married, being gay and not coming out, feeling feelings and repressing them, following the status quo when all you want is to do is live off the grid among pine trees and grizzly bears. A pill for every ill (then an ill following every pill).

Herd immunity has worked before, not sure what made this case so special. Flattening the curve prolongs the illness. Allowing people to intermingle and behave as normal, free, decision-making humans allows the virus to burnout within weeks.

Quarantine the sick, protect the most vulnerable (if they believe they are vulnerable) and let’s start living again.

Millions of people have already died historically by all causes of death by this time in the past.

Deaths Jan-April 2015	959,537
Deaths Jan-April 2016	947,318
Deaths Jan-April 2017	980,213
Deaths Jan-April 2018	1,005,711 (from CDC WONDER)

I don’t believe millions and millions of people will die from this virus in the U.S. That’s my non-statistical, felt-sense analysis of what may happen and my truth.

And if we’re talking about deaths, we need to get our sources aligned. The CDC has two pages of deaths:

The 24,555 is from the Provisional Death Counts based on death certificate data. They are delayed and may differ from other public data because the number is based on actual death certificates with the ICD-10 code of U07.1 (which should be only used for lab confirmation of COVID according to WHO, but is liberally used for presumed and confirmed deaths by the CDC).

If we’re talking about how shelter-in-place is being used to save lives, it is bullshit. I haven’t addressed the fact that people of color are disproportionately affected, so here you go. First, people of color have always experienced health disparities, this is not new, its just new to most. Its unjust, its inhumane, its disgusting, but its true, according to the literature and my 20 years in healthcare. We wait longer in waiting rooms of ERs, to get pain meds for acute pain and die from heart attacks and strokes because of slower interventions. No doubt if we’re ignored and delayed with common medical presentations, this new, scary, ‘highly contagious’ virus creates even more disparity. And if people are being left to die, forced to consent to intubation, as nurses from NYC are stating they are, using the words “murder” and “criminal activity” then people of color will certainly be the first to experience this horrific truth as they have in the past.

People of color also have more innate biological, physiological, immunological and spiritual wisdom, power and healing in their pinky finger than many have in their entire body and no one talks about them in this way. The collective story, the one that is told outside of our communities, is that we’re “poor, uneducated and suffering so much and we need someone to save us”. Yes, historically and currently, we have suffered, to degrees that are inhumane and unfathomable. But we’re not waiting around for anyone to tell us how to live our lives. The people I live around, hang with and serve are thriving, they think this lockdown is stupid, they’re gathering despite the mandates, they miss human touch and they’re still happy as hell celebrating this life we’ve been given. Shoot, Mary came to our backyard and my daughter jumped into her arms, no mask, no 6 feet away and they exchanged all kinds of germs. Thank goodness. Sure a few I’ve spoken with are pissed that churches and barbershops are closed, but they know that this too shall pass and are waiting for the storm to end just like the rest of the world.

I can go on and on about health disparities, but this is not my area of expertise. I encourage and invite you to these resources and people who are speaking and working on behalf of those who have been marginalized: The Mighty, The Marshall Project, Brookings, Border Network for Human Rights

“SIP is saving lives, protecting the most vulnerable”

Again, bullshit. What about our children? Around the country, ER docs are reporting increased child sexual and physical abuse. What about domestic abuse and domestic murder? Those numbers are up. Suicide is climbing. April is historically the month with the highest rate of suicide. Schools and daycares are closed so reports of child abuse are down and those working in those fields state it is because they’re isolated.

Experts fear that child maltreatment is going unreported. Especially worrisome, advocates say, is that families are enduring severe pressures — from job losses to depression, substance abuse and conflict triggered by isolation.

“It is a dangerous time for children and families: We know no family intends to hurt their children, but the stressors are profound,” said Rita Soronen, president of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a nonprofit that advocates for children in foster care.

Wenger and Knezevich

Human resources and child protective agencies around the country rely on communities to alert them to abuse situations, that way they can take immediate action and ensure a safe environment for everyone. So while we’re cozy and comfortable in our homes, the reality is that not everyone has a ‘wellness retreat’ going on right now.

Children aren’t eating because school breakfast and lunch programs are faulty. Many don’t have internet or tablets to access school work or participate in their education. People of color are the most affected by job losses and layoffs. Blacks and Hispanics are less able to work from home because they’re more likely to work in lower-paid, consumer-facing service jobs.

This ‘pandemic’ is finally bringing these disparities to light and I’m grateful for that, but they, WE, don’t need anyone to save us. My friends, my neighbors, my family, my people of color know they have all they need within them and know where to turn when they forget. And it sure as hell doesn’t include sheltering-in-place.

Those experiencing increased abuse, violence and economic hardship will endure long-term consequences that will be with them for a lifetime. Not just a season or a year, like this a pandemic, but a LIFETIME. Particularly, if mental health is still as ignored and/or addressed in the future as it is today.

Short- sided bandaids and quick fixes will only work for a little while. In reductionist medicine, quick fixes help maintain illness, some slow them down, but none prevent or stop their progression.

And finally some light, the LIFE rate of this whole thing. Here is the percentage of the world that have NOT died from COVID:

• Belgium: 99.944%
• Spain: 99.956%
• Italy: 99.957%
• France: 99.965%
• UK: 99.972%
• NL: 99.975%
• Sweden: 99,980%
• US: 99.999832%

I guess that’s really it. Unraveling is happening throughout the world. Institutions have been crashing and burning. Superpowers have been brought to their knees. The collapse of all we’ve ever known is going.

And we’re unraveling too. At least I am, releasing all the identities that I once knew, as a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a PA, a wife, a mama, a friend. Going straight to the core of who I am, my inner being, my spirit, my soul.

The collective has called this in and we’re healing in so many ways. Even the heart-breaking truths and the dark nights of the soul are paving a path to healing. We’re breaking through the facade of the mind, the intellect and all it thought it knew and deepening into the spirit and soul of what it inherently knows is best for all of humanity.

Our soul knows. It always has.

Thank you for reading.