Covid is Rising Again: How People with Disabilities Can Prepare
by Rabbi Michael Levy
The following remarks should not be taken as medical advice. They are rather suggestions about how you, as a person with a disability, can prepare yourself to weather the resurgence of COVID-19.
There are definitely JDIN subscribers who know more than I do about COVID-19 and available resources. Please jump in and correct me as needed. We need to work together now while conditons are stable and not chaotic.
As a person with a disability, share this post with people who have supported you in the past—members of your synagogue, relatives, and community groups.synagogue Consult a health professional about any medical issues.
Before plunging into preparations, begin with this mental exercise:
Imagine that COVID-19 is in your neighborhood today! The level of stress and confusion spikes.
Try to keep your own records. “Miss Delacruz, the very professional and kindly woman from Visiting Nurses, said that she would get back to me with more information within a week.” If she does not do so, it is up to you to contact her and say, “I believe that we agreed that I would receive information soon.”
Gently teach those who assist you that your disability is not stressful for you or a cause of sadness. If they see you downcast, take the initiative and tell them that you miss your adult children but have been advised that there is a small outbreak in their area.
Even a small rise in COVID-19 cases might mean that those whom you rely on for help to meet your basic needs could suddenly become unavailable. Turn to your support team NOW, not at the last minute to plan for this eventuality.
Which masks are easiest for you to use? Consider purchasing them now, in case of a shortage later.
If your disability prevents you from cooking most foods independently, stock up on food that you can either prepare yourself or eat as is. Better to eat salty crackers than to eat nothing.
If you need help in the bathroom or dressing and undressing, ask your qualified professional health advisor what options you have if your usual helpers are not available.
In-home services for you are better than your being moved to a nursing home. For one thing, you control your surroundings and schedule in your home.
Maybe you’re accustomed to hiring your own help. Working with an agency might become necessary during even a small rise in COVID-19, because a reliable helper may contract the virus or be exposed to it.
IF you panic when your usual routine is disrupted, talk to a calming person from your support team. You could also call, or call 988. 988 is a new service for people in emotional turmoil.
An important note you need from your doctor
A number of years ago, after a procedure, the hospital staff concluded that my wife was not breathing normally. They ignored my protestation that she wasn’t breathing normally when she entered the hospital and they intubated her. It took me 48 agonizing hours to remove the intubation and get her home where she belonged.
Ask your doctor to write, on medical stationery, a note explaining THE EFFECTS OF YOUR DISABILITY. If you couldn’t ambulate, speak, breathe, hear, see, think or remain calm in a typical way when you ENTERED the hospital, the discharge staff should not require you to ambulate, speak, breathe, hear, see, think or remain calm in a typical way when you leave.
Make MANY COPIES of this doctor’s note. One should go in your chart. Others should be distributed to the nursing station, the chaplains and staff involved in shift changes.
You may meet many new health professionals. Most will not be familiar with disability etiquette.
If you correct them even gently in this area, they are under so much stress that they may react with hostility.
Two words that make a world of difference--“Thank you.”
It is the “usual patient” who demands service “right now!” and complains when they don’t receive it. It grinds on the nerves of staff.
If you take every opportunity to say ‘thank you” even for imperfect service, you will be remembered with respect. Those around you will naturally want to do their best for you.
Pray—storm the gates of heaven
From the second day of Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur (except for Shabbat), we will recite “Avinu Malkenu”—our Father, our Ruler.”
Don’t confine yourself to the Siddur (prayerbook).
Our Father, our Ruler, why has the virus threatened us again?
Our Father, our Ruler, we have no one else to turn to, and sometimes it feels like You are turning away from Us.
Our Father, our Ruler, we want to improve your World. Give us the strength and health, the calmness and resolve that we need.”
We must also strengthen each other.
The CDC and other health agencies woefully neglected us during the 2020-22 period when COVID-19 raged. In my next post, we will explore how we can together prevent this from happening again.
A native of Bradley Beach, New Jersey, Rabbi Michael Levy attributes his achievements to G-d's beneficence and to his courageous parents. They supported him as he learned to travel independently, visited Israel, and became more Jewishly observant. For 65 years, JBI International supported him with braille and recorded Judaica material.
He received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1981 and an MSW from Columbia University in 1982.
As a board member and now President of Yad Hachazakah, Rabbi Levy strives to make the Jewish experience and Jewish texts accessible to Jews with disabilities. In lectures at synagogues, camps, and educational institutions, he cites Nachshon, who according to tradition boldly took the plunge into the Red Sea even before it miraculously parted. Rabbi Levy elaborates, "We who have disabilities should be Nachshons--boldly taking the plunge into the Jewish experience, supported by laws and lore that mandate our integration.”
He applauds Jewish Disability Inclusion News’s ambition to give voice not just to those who work with the disabled, but also to people with disabilities themselves. “About us? Not without us” he is fond of reminding those eager to listen, and the media to whom the maxim may be out of their comfort zone.
For over 20 years, Rabbi Levy served as director of Travel Training at MTA New York CityTransit. Now retired, he is an active participant in Congregations Aish Kodesh and Young Israel in Woodmere, New York. Most of all, he relishes the company of his children, grandchildren, and large extended family.