Book Review: The Great Influenze

The Great Influenza, The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry, deals with the Spanish Flu epidemic that began in the spring of 1918 and stretched into 1919, perhaps even in 1920 on a milder basis.

The author begins with the premise that the flu began at an army base in Kansas. Though he later admits there was no way of proving that, he proceeds for some time in a vacuum, focusing on the spread of the flu through troop movement, ignoring how it affected the rest of the country. While reading, I often stop and do a bit of online research. Other writers took the same angle, so troop movement did seem to be the super spreader for that epidemic.

While the author did a good job of providing an in-depth look at the deaths, devastation, and the race to isolate the cause and to find a vaccine, at time he veers off and goes in depth into other subjects. The first twelve or thirteen chapters were essentially a history of the rise of American medicine and bacteriology, and biographies of the American researchers who hunted for the cause of what appeared, at times, to be another Bubonic Plague. Because of that, I skimmed and skipped much until I reached the chapter on the epidemic.

I cannot recommend those chapters enough. As I stated above, Barry did a good job of relating the massive death toll and subsequent devastation to individuals, families, local economies, and society overall that the virulent strain of influenza caused, and of the race to isolate the infected and bury mounds of bodies, many of whom were healthy humans one minute and who collapsed the next. He provides an explanation that even I could understand without medical knowledge of how the lungs were attacked by the virus and why it killed so many young adults when children and the elderly were its usual targets. After reading that, I definitely won’t dismiss the flu as readily as I did before.

I was a bit dismay to learn millions wore masks during the epidemic, but overall, the masks didn’t work. The only time they were found useful was when they were placed on those who were infected. In the end, nothing stopped the epidemic but time. It simply faded out.

However, in this age of COVID, it won't hurt to keep socially distancing and washing your hands. Often.

The last chapter covered the lives of the researchers after the pandemic. The first part of the Afterword was interesting. Not only did it discuss past pandemics, the author delves into possible issues regarding future events. Since it was last published in 2018, it was fascinating to see his predictions and how close they came to reality.

In case you’re wondering, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is still the deadliest pandemic the world has ever seen. It wiped out tens of millions of people—or more—around the globe, including entire tribes in places like Alaska and in African nations. Still, there is a lot of shared experiences between then and now. Society shut down, fear ruled the day, and no one knew what the disease was or how to stop it.

The book was long, but I recommend it. It places the reader in the middle of the 1918 pandemic, and in doing so, gives insight into aspects of what we’re experiencing now, from closures to masks, to those in government taking advantage of the situation or just not certain how to deal with such an unprecedented situation.

I give it four stars out of five.

What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

From an early age, I had two major goals in life. I worked on those goals during the majority of my adult years, investing time, money, and a lot of effort in the hopes of achieving them. Despite all that effort, neither goal came to pass. To say I was--and still am--disappointed is an understatement.

I'm a Type A person who loves to be busy and to produce. At a time I expected to find myself working hard on the other side of my met goals, I instead found myself with very little to do. Getting forced to stay inside a house in a rural region during a pandemic didn't help. So I did what I could do. I started a large crochet project. I learned how to make and can strawberry and peach jam (I tried blueberry, but it kept coming out more like candy than jam.)

Though I don't play the piano, I memorized a couple of songs that could be useful in church, since we lost our high-risk pianist to concerns over COVID. I made a few masks for people at church. I cut out pieces for a purse that I've yet to put together because sewing construction is hard. I started a new crochet project after completing the previous one and read until my wonky vision made both impossible to do (one cataract surgery down, one to go, so please pardon any typos I made.)

I watched TV, started listening to podcasts, took bike rides and walks. My husband bought a big garden box for me and I planted vegetables in it. Now, I've turned my attention to learning how to make small quilts. I do anything I can to produce, because I can't stand feeling useless.

Some may call that being busy. While it is, it's busy work, filler, with some ministerial applications, since I did some of it for others. None of it is what I feel I was meant or called to do.

God places His people on this earth for a purpose--to minister to the Body of Christ around the world, to do good works that will glorify His name, to teach others about Him and more. What my purpose is, I don't know yet. Maybe the busy work is it. Perhaps, like a quilt or that purse I've yet to pin together to sew, I'm gathering all the pieces and tools I'll need for whatever it is I'm supposed to do. In the meantime, I'll keep learning and doing stuff.

Thirty Days

Thirty Days. The stereotypical sentence for infractions committed by wrongdoers on various television shows. It was also the amount of time our governor decided citizens of our state needed to stay at home to "flatten the curve" of the pandemic lest patients overwhelm the medical system.

Quarantine is a very biblical concept, though God quarantined affected individuals, not the entire nation of Israel. Consequently, I didn't agree with the governor quarantining the entire state for a month. Nonetheless, we complied, leaving the house only to go to work, to buy essentials, and for badly needed long drives. The rest of the time, we kept ourselves busy. I...

• Made a few masks for people, stopping when supplies ran out. 
• Crocheted twenty-one 20 x 20 diamond-motif squares for afghans.
• Continued my French studies. Mais, je ne parle pas français. 
• Learned to play the Gloria Patri on the piano (memorizing treble staff notes only because I don't play the piano) so I can play when our morning services resume until we find a pianist.

That’s how bored and restless I was.

My husband is a pastor, so he continued his studies and holding drive-in services on Sunday morning, and streaming Sunday and Wednesday evening lessons via Facebook Live. He also challenged himself to do 100 pushups a day within a few minutes time. He met that challenge and more by working up to 140 a day.

After socially distancing ourselves for a few weeks in March and gaining a little weight from it, we both decided to go on a reduced calorie/portion control diet during our thirty days incarceration in our mortgaged slammer. My husband the pushup king lost ten pounds. I lost six.

Last week, the governor decided we needed to stay indoors for another week, which will do absolutely nothing. People are rebelling, of course, but we're staying in--for now. When we do venture out, we’ll wear masks and take precautions as we have been doing, and as I hope everyone will do so this thing will. just. end. already. 

I don't have the materials to make more masks, but during this eight-day extension of our sentence, I'll finish the afghans, continue my French, and read books I downloaded. And, of course, continue the diet. I have another ten pounds to go. 

And when this cruel quarantine is over, we'll take a trip to enjoy the beauty of the world that we missed during our thirty (soon to be thirty-eight) day sentence.

The Pangs of Isolation

I'm not a social butterfly, but I do like to be around people, even when I'm not interacting with them. And I like to be outside. I love to go to pretty places and explore the beauty of this earth. One can't do that when a bug that threatens to overwhelm hospitals is holding the world hostage, forcing them indoors.

My husband and I began to social distance, as its called, in early March after COVID-19 cases began to flare across the US. We hunkered down even more at the beginning of April when the governor of North Carolina signed a thirty-day Stay-at-Home order that allowed just about everyone to go out for a variety of reasons. So what have we been doing?

• My husband is a pastor, so he was able to keep up with his pastoral duties, doing visitations via calls, some services via Facebook Live, and having drive-in services on Sunday morning (governor stated that was okay, as it should be since there is zero risk to attendees.)

• I've been able to work my part-time job. At home, I keep busy with hobbies. To date, I've crocheted eighteen 20 x 20 Diamond-Motif squares for an afghan. I've also been making masks. That hasn't been going as well since I barely know how to sew, but I have made a few decent masks that I was able to hand out.

• We've tried to support stores by shopping online, but they and shipping services are overwhelmed. Orders take forever to arrive, and I've received the wrong product with no response from customer service, so we put a stop to that.

• We're doing our own hair. My husband cut his--and did a surprisingly good job for his first time--and we colored mine. It's now a darker auburn to better match my roots, thus eliminating the need to repeat that traumatic action. 

And that sums up our lives since early March. And y'all, after five or six weeks of social distancing and doing the same thing every day, I. Want. Out. We need a break. Everyone in the state needs a break. People around the world need a break. Many need to get back to work. The economy needs to open before it crashes for good (sadly, some will rejoice over that prospect.) But we all need to get back to living our lives.

And we should. The primary reason for social isolation has never been about saving lives--that's the secondary goal. I say this because tens of thousands of people die from the flu each year* and absolutely no social isolation regulations are put into place. The main goal of social distancing has been to prevent hospitals and medical personnel from being overwhelmed by COVID cases as they have in Italy and in New York.

That's not to say we can run out throwing caution to the wind. Preventative measures are still needed, but home quarantine for the vast majority of the population is not. Those who are concerned, who are elderly, and those who have underlying medical conditions should continue to quarantine themselves as best as possible, taking precautions when they do go out. Family members of those people need to take precautions as well if they plan to visit them. Otherwise, the rest of us should be able to go about our business as we did when we completely ignored the threat of deadly flu.

I'm ready. We're all ready. It's time to get out.


*CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018–2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza (Table 1). 

I cannot find data for the 2019-2020 season, but as of Feb 2020, over 20,000 have died from the flu.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

"It's been a tough year this week."

That was just one of several amusing memes that showed up in my Facebook feed last week. What was the funniest?

Credit Unknown.

Fear and panic over just the idea of the newest form of the coronavirus, named COVID-19, have shut down countries and sent Americans into a panic. Are you familiar with the old movie, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?" According to the description on IMDB, it's about, "a group of motorists (who) hear about a crook's hidden stash of loot, and race against each other across the country to get to it."

Over the past few weeks, it's been a mad, mad, mad crazy mad world, but instead of hidden loot, Americans have been racing from one store to the next to stock up on hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Yes, that’s right. Toilet paper. For a respiratory illness.

I think the driving force behind that odd choice was the fear that we'll be told to quarantine at home as residents in Italy were forced to do, but that was never said outright. And yet, panicky people flooded stores, emptying shelves of paper products and soap (seems few were washing their hands up to this point, and everyone felt they oughtta start.) It didn't help that after the first wave of hoarders did their damage, schools closed, colleges switched to online classes, airlines were asked to curtail their flights and Americans were urged to "socially distance" ourselves from one another and to cancel all gatherings of over 100 attendees, then 50 attendees, and then 10 attendees--all within a week's time. Woo doggie, that sent everybody back to the stores. This time, they grabbed cereal, sugar, chicken, potatoes, rice--lots of rice--beans, and milk. Oddly, the coffee and canned goods sections were still full at our stores, as was the wine section. It's been a form of chaos that would even befuddle the likes of Ian Malcolm.

Seriously, we didn't see this level of fear and reaction during the Ebola crisis a few years back, and Ebola turns ones insides to liquid and makes them bleed from the eyes.

We keep hearing talk of "flattening the curve." While I can appreciate the desire to stop the further spread of this virus, I would have preferred that we take the same measures we did during the aforementioned Ebola threat and the 2009 H1N1 crisis, which I didn’t even know was a pandemic until now. Ebola was stopped in its tracks. The numbers for the flu pandemic? According to the CDC:

(The) final estimates were that from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010 approximately 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (8868-18,306) occurred in the United States due to pH1N1.

Granted, that’s far too many, just as the 20,000 plus flu deaths so far this season are too many. What precautions were taken for both influenza events? Not many beyond being told to get a flu shot. More measures should have been taken, but society didn’t shut down. Countries and churches didn’t close. The stock market didn’t tank. People didn’t flip out and stock up on toilet paper as if it were a crook’s hidden treasure.

So why now and not then? Many of us are asking that question. We don’t understand the events that, in a short amount of time, turned this into a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Christian, I’m not worried. You shouldn’t be either. Instead, be a light in the darkness during this time. With your faith anchored in Christ, check on the elderly, encourage others, be humorous, stay home if you’re sick or have been exposed to any illness, and show the world the salvation and peace of Christ.