Once upon a time, I used to mow our lawn. We have a large lawn so it would take me 90 minutes or so to cut the grass. I have allergies to grasses and pollens so I used an N95 respirator to protect myself. After my knee surgeries, I gave up cutting the lawn. By that time Diane had her Fitbit and decided cutting the lawn would add to her “steps.” So I passed the lawnmower over to Diane ( but I still gas it and start it up for her).
Meanwhile, I completely forgot about the box of N95 respirator masks sitting up in pantry…until today. I had an appointment with my General Practitioner, Dr. Galucci, today. During the appointment (where he wore a N95 mask), he mentioned the shortage of medical supplies and the lack of coronavirus test kits. I couldn’t do anything about the test kits, but when I got home and told Diane what Dr. Galucci said, she went to the pantry and produced an almost full box of N95 respirator masks. I immediately called Dr. Galucci and offered to bring in the N95 respirators. He was thrilled!
When I entered the Waiting Room of the medical center, the nurses cheered as I gave the N95 respirators to the Receptionist. Glad I could help!
Thanks for this!
Here in Hungary also many people are trying to help. My wife’s sister is a quilter and they had to stop their regular meetings – but they decided to invest their time in making masks/respirators, don’t know how many they produced.
PS they’re all in their 70s …
Everybody can help!
Wolf, my wife Diane deserves all the credit. I forgot all about the box of N95 Respirators up in the pantry. But, Diane didn’t!
Nice contribution, George. Even a small donation helps.
I just learned that one of my coworkers and her husband have tested positive. They were at a local ER last night and she said the hospital’s parking lot was being used as a waiting room for non-patients—no one who was not ill was permitted to enter the ER lobby. As of right now, it seems as if they have fairly mild cases, but she and I usually ate lunch together at work, so I’m monitoring my every sniffle right now! She said her first symptom as los g her sense of smell, so naturally I keep sniffing everything to be sure I’m still able to smell it.
Her first symptom was losing her sense of smell….
Can’t blame autocorrect for that…just failure to proofread.
Deb, the WALL STREET JOURNAL says losing a sense of taste and smell is a key symptom of the coronavirus.
Deb, it won’t be long before all us will know someone who has the coronavirus. Even Prince Charles has it!
This made me cry, George. Good on you!
Patti, give all the credit to Diane. I had completely forgotten about the N95 Respirators. It’s tragic that our doctors and nurses are running out of essential equipment.
I always knew you were one of the good guys, George!
Seems like everybody is trying to help one another during this crisis. Two notable exceptions: spring breakers and Trump.
Jerry, the people who called the coronavirus “a hoax” and spread COVID-19 have a special place in Hell.
Way to be a real hero, George! Nice one.
Jerry is right. People are trying to get by. Some are doing what they can to make things better. Then there is the small percentage of people actively making things worse, and Trump leads that list.
Jeff, Diane is the real hero. I was just the messenger. Diane had just “reorganized” the pantry so she was aware of those N95 Respirators.
Good move, George. Thanks. You’ve now probably done more to help the situation than our so-called president.
Michael, thank you for your kind words. I’ll do anything I can to help our doctors and nurses who are fighting the coronavirus. But, it’s shameful that the U.S. was so woefully prepared for this pandemic.
I had tears in my eyes reading that, so nice to have good news and unselfish people. I’ve seen a lot about people who are “crafty” making masks. Dana Cameron (mystery writer) is one of them. Wish I had some skill. I’ve heard with the shut downs, fabric is scarce. I have some for a jacket I was going to have made, so if it’s the kind they can use, I’ll happily donate it.
Maggie, the shortages of protective gear for our doctors and nurses on the Front Lines of battling the coronavirus is a travesty. These people are risking their lives to protect us and our Government shows no urgency to help them.
and napier’s hero has offered some to No Korea unbelievable
Maggie, Tesla announced they are going to start producing ventilators. New York State–and eventually all the States–are going to need ventilators badly.
Good for you, George. And I’m sure Diane is happy to have them gone – especially to such a worthy cause.
I’m currently an essential worker waiting for my”hall pass” from Robertson Ryan.
The bookstore closed to the public St. Patrick’s Day. Now we’re filling website orders with free media mail thru March – which will probably be extended.
Beth, Diane was happy to donate those N95 Respirators. She’d also be happy if I donated a few thousand more books to SUNY at Buffalo! Diane is in her “Marie Kondo” decluttering mode during this pandemic! She’s cleaning and decluttering everything!
I’m sorry to hear that, George. There go all those books, CDs, and DVDs. Your good deed might have created a monster.
Michael, the effect of Maria Kondo on many people, but especially my wife, is profound. Diane has been “decluttering” our house since the coronavirus outbreak began. It frustrates Diane that none of the Goodwill or Salvation Army or AMVET donation centers are open. We just have a stack of bags and boxes of “stuff” waiting for donation when things open up.
I hope they help, good job.
Rick, all the hospitals and clinics here are running out of protective gear. People are making gowns and gloves and masks at home to help in this crisis. I’m just glad I could make things a little bit better by donating those N95 Respirators.
Those homemade masks aren’t effective against anything but large droplets. Even your N95 masks are for dust and pollen, not against viruses. The medical grade N95 are a different story. still, as Art says, something may be better than nothing.
I have a couple of those N95 masks left over from my paperback room rearrangement & cleaning project (the dust was fierce!). I assumed that particulate masks were ineffective for virus shielding and hospital type “germ masks” were required. But I suppose in a shortage emergency, something is better than nothing. I have seen people wearing them. I may have to go out later today and I’ll take one for an outing. Thanks for the tip.
Art, one of my friends has a daughter who teaches Chemistry classes at a local High School. All the schools are shut down and teaching has moved on-line. Since she isn’t conducting Labs, she donated over a 100 N95 masks (with the permission of her Principal) to the local Hospital. Everyone is pitching in!
The best way to pitch in is to stay home.
Rick, I’m home and loving it! Catching up on books I’ve been meaning to read for years is a dream come true!
I’m thinking of rereading some Hemingway.
Rick, I really like Hemingway’s short stories.