Ways to stay connected to your chronically ill friends @ Thanksgiving

November 14, 2022 9:45 AM

10 Ways To Stay Connected to Your Disabled / Chronically Ill Friends This Thanksgiving [text based article at autostraddle]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (8 comments total)

Since this article has a lot of outdoor stuff, I will say that even here in Minnesota I did do a couple of outdoor meetups in December - wrap up well, find a spot sheltered from the wind and bring a thermos of hot cocoa, and it is possible to hang out outside for an hour or two without being super active (I can't do standing/walking activities and most friends don't winter bike, so outdoor sitting is essential.)
posted by Frowner at 11:36 AM on November 14, 2022 [3 favorites]

This is a great article. Thanks.
posted by medusa at 12:27 PM on November 14, 2022

I really appreciate the item that says "don't guilt people". My in-laws wanted to go to a buffet in their crowded club and I'm immune suppressed. I appreciate that nobody is up to cooking but I'm not willing to risk COVID or flu or whatever with every old person in the city and their grandkids who are home from college coughing and hacking in a bunch of rooms with crappy ventilation on the 17th floor of a building where they can't open the windows.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 2:23 PM on November 14, 2022 [13 favorites]

Autostraddle is great and this is a great list!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:25 PM on November 14, 2022 [3 favorites]

I am so grateful for this article. As an immunosuppressed person, I am once again very socially isolated as most people I know have gone completely "back to normal" even though that "back to normal" involves occasional widespread COVID outbreaks that have left people we know with, among other issues, heart damage, frequent blood clots, and disabling chronic fatigue. It's just nice to see anyone at all on earth even thinking about people like me (even though my former social circle definitely is not).
posted by hydropsyche at 4:45 AM on November 15, 2022 [6 favorites]

I love the idea of a small, outdoor Thanksgiving gathering! I might invest in a patio heater or two.
posted by somebodytellme at 6:06 AM on November 15, 2022 [2 favorites]

Thank you for this. This year, it's for me. I'm coming off an injury, and though it's not permanent, I can't travel as I meant to. So it's my first solo Thanksgiving ever, if I am not mistaken. I know Thanksgiving is Wrong and all, but I'm gonna be a little blue.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:01 AM on November 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

Autostraddle is great and this is a great list!
I do want to second that. Autostraddle is an amazing LGBTQ space, and the article is good too - the author totally gets the issue.

That said, I don't like the characterization of the people involved as only the chronically ill and/or immunocompromised. Some of us simply don't want to get others sick. I'm still watching in dismay as the people I respect and care about have gone into indoor spaces, unmasked, and gotten others ill. We had about 15% of the attendees at my LARP come down with COVID last event because of a negative-testing, mildly symptomatic attendee who later tested positive. I was the only one wearing a mask - and these were previously COVID-cautious people who otherwise care a lot about each other.

I've now missed three years of Jewish holidays in-person. I don't have a great deal of sympathy for the need for in-person, indoor holiday events - particularly unmasked.

And yes, we all need to move on at some point. But that LARP event was last month. COVID is still out there, just waiting.

The article itself claims that 5% of people contract long COVID, regardless of vax status. This isn't just about the chronically ill. It's about all of us.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:24 AM on November 15, 2022 [6 favorites]