I'd be remiss if I didn't do some type of COVID follow-up after my last post; so here's a quick recap: I'm happy to announce that the Coronavirus did not effect my region nearly as badly as it did some others. "The Bubble" was dismantled in early April and all the patient rooms on the floor where I work were equipped with fans to turn them into negative air pressure rooms (so long as you keep the patient room door closed). We still get the occasional COVID-19 positive patient here and there. Happily there's no longer the underlying nervousness about caring for these patients. We have a better understanding now of how to treat COVID patients and what to look out for as warning signs that they may need a higher level of care (i.e. transfer to the ICU).
It does make people outside of the hospital setting nervous when they ask, "So what do you do?" and I out and out reply, "I'm a COVID nurse." They take a step back and tend to keep their distance. They often have questions, which I'm happy to answer. I try to relieve ignorance where I can. This is a nasty illness and it can take down the strong and weak alike, the healthy and the sick. At this point we have no way of predicting who will develop complications from contracting the coronavirus, and who will just have passing symptoms that don't even need hospitalization; so we in the healthcare field advocate doing what can be done to avoid coming down with it in the first place. Frequent hand washing, and mask-wearing while in poorly ventilated spaces where one may be within six feet of another person are still the best precautions.
I know everyone is sick (no pun intended) of COVID-19. People in the future will likely look back on this brief span of time and be amazed at how much air-time this virus has received. I can't wait for this illness to become a thing of the past; but for now it's still here and it's still real.
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On a happily unrelated note: I've been up to more than "just" nursing. I recently started work on a Regency (Empire) Era outfit (pics in future posts that will feature more of the outfit as it's completed). This project will be a hybrid of hand-sewn and machine-sewn. Though I'm shooting for as historically accurate as possible, there will likly be liberties taken based on my whims. So far I have the chemise and stays finished.
I continue to pick away at the Vampire story. It's nearing the end and as of this writing was sitting at just below 68,000 words. I've mentioned a lot on social media that this one will likely never be published as it's too much like other already-existing works; so we'll call it an "homage piece". Happily this means that it'll be available to all who ask (for free) when it's finished and gets squeezed through a couple beta reads. (It may be free, but it's going to be proof-read and edited!).
I've been putting off agent-scouting the Tree Mage story, waiting for the fabled "Right Time™". Of course now would be a great time since we're getting into NaNoWriMo season and submitting right before then would be ideal.
Speaking of which: I have no intention of participating in NaNoWriMo this year, but in past years I've jumped in rather last minute, so anything can happen.
Lastly: I was recently interviewed by Andrea Harkins for her Martial Arts Woman podcast. Link for the accompanying blog post that also has the podcast link here.
