We are in a time without precedent, in modern times, related to the new strain of Corona Virus (Covid-19).
The health of our entire population and our economy are both threatened and in mortal danger.
Public Health measures are defining our daily lives and every day things are changing. Our trusted medical health officers, local, provincial and federal governments are doing everything possible to prevent our health care system from collapsing from an overwhelming tide of severely ill members of our society.
The measures implemented mandated the closure of our office and the cancellation of elective surgery for the foreseeable future. While we hope this necessity is brief, most reports suggest this is going to several weeks, at least, and quite possibly significantly longer.
We are aware that this is a significant inconvenience to the many patients that had booked surgery, treatments, and consultations. We appreciate that many surgery patients had booked time off work, planned for transportation and post-treatment care, and prepared for their surgery/treatments with preoperative protocols and testing.
We believe that it is our responsibility to do our part in this time of a pandemic. All our staff are healthy and exhibiting no symptoms of COVID-19. If you were in the office or had surgery in the last few weeks, the risk of contact through our office is approaching zero.
We believe we all need to do our part to decrease person to person transmission. Canada has a great history of taking shared responsibility for challenges to our society. Together, we can reduce the impact of the disease in Canada and change the outcome of many of those in our community that would be most vulnerable. We must all do our part. Hence the call for social distancing. This video makes a very strong case of how we need to learn from the Italy experience to prevent a repeat and to act now.
“Cabin fever” has long been known to Canadians as are its remedies and preventives.
We can and must take care of ourselves and those closest to us within the confines of our own homes. See https://www.piperclassics.com/2019/02/how-to-fend-off-cabin-fever/ for more information.
- Exercising daily using resources we have available.
- Eating slow-cooked homemade food will help with a sense of well-being.
- Make yourself a good coffee after your morning yoga routine.
- Think Chili, stews, soups.
- My favourite bakery closed two days ago. Right now I have a dough rising and I’m going to bake bread for the first time.
- Read books, if we have them (the libraries are now closed), is a time-honoured way of passing long winter nights. You can still order books to be delivered or download them if you have an e-reader.
- Keep a journal. When this is over, (and it will be, hopefully sometime soon), it’ll make very good reading.
- Keep to routine as much as possible, waking and rising from bed in the morning, keeping scheduled mealtimes, and getting to bed at a regular time.
This is the time to heed the recommendations of the medical experts.
We all should follow their guidelines regarding self-isolating:
- If we are exhibiting symptoms
- If we have been exposed
- If we are returning from travel outside Canada
- There are special measures if you have returned from, or have had contact with someone who has returned from Italy, Iran, Hubei province
- See https://bit.ly/2QF7UjD for more information
This is a time to cultivate our connections to family and friends through the virtual communications we are so fortunate to have. In another era social distancing would be socially isolating. Today this need not be so.
During this closure, we will still be available by email or by telephone.
If you have concerns relating to past surgery, or still want to inquire about surgery, please contact us. As always, Dr. Gelfant is available should you have any pressing concerns.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions during this time. We will be responding to all queries in a timely manner.
Our sincerest wish is for the return to health of all those affected, for the continuing health of those who have not, and for the return to health for our economy and our society. We especially wish to express our gratitude to our leaders and to those on the front lines of delivering health care.
Email: info@drgelfant.com
Telephone: (604) 874-2078 [24 hours for emergency]
Dr. Gelfant’s Living Beautifully Blog
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