Just as the pandemic was announced in Ontario my husband and I self-isolated. We did  what we had to  do by keeping social distanced from everyone and staying at home. 

Then on Good Friday, April 10th I fainted and fell backward striking the back of my head on the counter and fell to the floor. My husband took me to emergency to have my injury checked and the cut on my head stitched.

After several x-rays were taken, it appeared that I had fractured the vertebrae at the c-2 location on my neck. An ambulance took me to Owen Sound Hospital where a CT scan confirmed that the cervical C-2  vertebrae was fractured. My neck was put into a special neck brace that I would wear continuously for 6 weeks and then wean myself off the dependency of the neck brace over the next 6 weeks.

At the time, I wondered day to day if the healing would continue so that I could begin to do normal living activities. My husband was my caregiver who did everything from cooking, laundry, shopping and helping me whenever I needed something. I knew that each day was a new day and I must stay positive in my thinking to heal.

Slowly I was able to begin to read again, to write at the computer, to talk on the phone as I was starting to have more flexibility in my neck as I looked up and looked down.  The speaker on the phone allowed me to talk to family members.

It has been 8 months since the pandemic closed everything to the public

Therefore, I worked at having a positive attitude each day. It was important to me to be thankful for all of my blessings which included our four children, their spouses and our 7 grandchildren. Although we could not visit them, we did talk on the phone. I did send lots of hugs and love from a distance. The speaker phone is a great invention as we could talk to everyone and they could hear the conversation.

Several months have gone by and I am healing. I am also excited and inspired by the three main projects that I started before my injury and they all came to fruition within the same week recently. The timing of the events could not be better. I once read that to keep  a positive attitude in life helps your mental health,  gives you energy  to  complete tasks and makes your emotional feelings more balanced to accomplish your goals. Each day, I set goals for the day and often carried the tasks onto the next day until complete. I believed to make myself happy, I needed to make others happy.

The first project was to apply for a grant from the Retired Teachers of Ontario and partner with the Lion’s Head Legion to prepare forty “72 Hour Emergency Kits” for families in the Lion’s Head area who are recipients of the local food bank. 

It feels so good to give back to families who appreciate the hand up from their community. Since we were still in self-isolation, social distancing and wearing masks when shopping we stayed vigilant because my husband and I are in the vulnerable age group. Although the initial plan was to share the shopping with others, due to the COVID-19, my husband and I did the shopping and organizing. I am proud to say that on October 26, 2020 the kits were prepared by a team of 7 following the COVID-19 restrictions of social distancing, wearing masks and completing tasks independently.

The second project that I was involved with was learning about “Seniors’ Centres Without Walls” that provides a program for seniors 55+ to connect with others on the telephone. I wanted to implement this program on the Northern Bruce Peninsula to help overcome the loneliness, social distancing and lack of socializing with others by providing a program for people to connect with others over the phone to chat, to learn about topics of interest related to health and safety  as wells as listen to entertainers from the local area.

I received the news that my grant application was approved and now I will be planning the monthly program topics with volunteers. This program recognizes that many older adults do not have computers  There is an option for some sessions to be available using the phone and video on the computer.