Amanda Kay Whiddon, email to Martin T. Olliff, March 26, 2020
From: Amanda Kay Whiddon1
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2020
To: Martin T Olliff
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: I would like to participate
[Original email posted at 11:43 am CDT]
Hi. I'm Amanda. I'm a single mom of three already living and thriving with a significant low immune system, asthma and COPD. I contracted MRSA pneumonia in 2011 while working as a case manager in Holmes, Washington and Jackson Counties in Florida. My life has never been the same.
I have a masters degree in Psychology. I've not been ready to say goodbye to my career, however, I had to leave my amazing job in 2017 on medical leave due to my inability to stay well enough to make any significant progress with my clients.
This virus, Covid‐19, is my biggest fear. I've been hunkered down at home in Dothan, Al with my three children. Aden is 17. He has severe anxiety...debilitating anxiety. He is a wreck to say the least. I so badly want him to be able to see his friends...but I love my son too much to chance losing him to a virus.
Ava is almost 11. She has severe asthma and requires daily preventative medicine to help control her breathing. She is deathly allergic to certain foods and to Motrin. Thank God this virus chose Motrin to be its side kick. Ava's birthday is April 2. She had her party already planned. She made her own invitations. She was just cast in a singing role at her school for the musical at BISA. She can't understand why we won't be able to do either this year.
My little Alex. She is five. She is rowdy and rambunctious. She is a breath of fresh air but also the one that takes my breath away with her always getting injured climbing a tree or prancing off into the woods beside our home or making experiments with shaving cream and salt! She and Ava both have appointments with Dr Lozano, a pediatric lung specialist in April. I pray we still keep that appointment amongst the fears of this virus.
We haven't left out home in over a week. I've disinfected the entire 2000 sq feet of our home. We are low on groceries and running low on money. I have savings of course...but we will have to put Disney on hold...again.
The only hope I've been able to give my precious family is a new puppy! Long story. Lol. She is our world right now. The best decision I've ever made.
I have to go. It's time to check vitals and log them into our journal. Aden wasn't feeling good last night. He has a deep cough and said he felt feverish. I checked his temp..it was 97.4. I'm scared to death.
[Follow up email posted at 11:59 am, CDT]
Last thing ..my grandmother is 86. She is alive and well. She grew up in a time where the depression changed everyone's way of life. I understand her now. I yearn to be with her now. I know now why she always buys us a huge thing of toilet paper and paper toweling every time she goes to Walmart....lol. All kidding aside, I'm scared for her bc she just lost her husband and she also has severe anxiety and early stage dementia. On a good day without the threat of Covid 19...she hoards bottled water. She collects rain water to store for bathing water. There's no telling what state her home is in right now. We aren't allowed in.
1 Ms. Whiddon is a resident of the Dothan, AL, area.