Big Stone 1

this is the start of a series of short pieces about breaking down this Pandemic mount of feelings and information, thoughts and ruminations, so as to hack a trail through it all.

(beware: disturbing image)

There’s a new bug and people are dying, swiftly. Here in Singapore, tutored as we were from the Sars epidemic, our healthcare systems exhibited world-class readiness. But I was wondering: what are the infected dying from? How contagious is this?

The information trickled in daily. We read of symptoms, pulmonary and systemic inflammation, the collapse of the respiratory system, the awful reality of being absolutely alone in the suffering except for the presence of the healthcare professionals.

We avoid death at all cost. To this day, with everything we know about Covid-19, very rarely do we ponder the blows that the virus afflicts on the infirmed, the frightful reality of the sensation of drowning as one’s lungs are flooded with blood, the asphyxiation and the sense of horror from having no loved one to witness the suffering or offer comfort.

Outside the walls of the hospital, we confront other deaths. And again, we rather not talk about these too.

There is the death of plans. Every one of us knows someone who moaned how their vacation or work plans were upended. “No refund” was a common refrain.

Soon the more ominous realities of other deaths began to rumble under our feet. To slow the spread of the virus, countries began to enforce…