Alone. Together.

April 9, 2020 • Posted in blindness, Braille, careers/jobs for people who are blind, Mike Knezovich, Mondays with Mike, Seeing Eye dogs, teaching memoir, technology for people who are blind by

Every night at 8 pm, our neighborhood has a social distancing party. Saturday’s was an especially good party–it was Mike’s first.

Two weeks ago today Mike was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago with the COVID 19 virus. Here are some things that happened at home while he was away:

  • When I let my friend Jamie (yes, the same Jamie who was driving me to school visits before the pandemic hit) know, she rallies her book club and some old college friends to help.
  • Each would choose a night and charge a meal for me at one of our small Printers Row restaurants taking to-go orders now (ordering directly means restaurants do not have to share proceeds with delivery companies).
  • Neighborhood friends volunteer to pick up my dinners and deliver them to our condo
  • I eat well.
  • “It takes a village,” I text to one of those local volunteers to thank her for delivering a meal to me one night.
  • ”And ours is a good village!” she texts back.
  • I miss Mike.
  • I get hooked on audio books by Irish author Maeve Binchy. The sweet lilting accents carry me far away, stories are playful. Kind of like Louise Penny books, but they take place in Dublin rather than Three Pines. And no one dies.
  • Becoming more adept at using VoiceOver (the speech synthesizer that comes with every iPhone) to text and answer the phone when Mike calls, or when caring doctors, social workers, friends and family contact me to see how he’s doing.
  • My part-time job moderating the blog for Easterseals National Headquarters (located in Chicago) continues, I am grateful, working from home, and, while distracted, I do what I can to devote my thinking brain to that work.
  • I miss Mike.
  • I set an alarm for 2:30 pm every day to listen to our governor and Illinois Department of Public Health Director give their daily update. Their honest and intelligent talks are comforting, and every once in a while the fabulous Mayor Lightfoot speaks at these, too.
  • I miss Mike.
  • Every night my longtime friend who is a doctor checks in with me, or I check in with her. She is working at one of the COVID testing sites and has sequestered herself from her family. Her COVID information helps me understand what Mike and I might be facing, and her friendship is sustaining.
  • I join the 21st century and start carrying my iPhone wherever I go.
  • Finish Quentins by Maeve Binchy. Starting her book Evening Class now.
  • A box of treats — and a bottle of white wine! — arrives by UPS from my friend Jill, owner of the sensational cheese shop Marché” in Glen Ellyn.
  • That’s when my nightly ritual begins: I pour a small glass of that wine every night at 8 p.m., open the window, get comfortable on the couch, nosh on Marché snacks and sip wine while listening to the nightly sing-along going on outside
  • Somehow the days fly by.
  • A box of unused masks and disposable gloves arrives here from my great-niece in Minneapolis, who took care of her mom (my niece Lynne), who was in hospice last year. The unused disposable gloves and masks were left over from that sad time — a bittersweet — yet extremely thoughtful and helpful — package
  • Mike usually takes my Seeing Eye dog Luna out for her last “empty” of the day. Now I don a mask and disposable gloves every time I take her out, and, assuming bad guys are staying home during the pandemic, I am fearless when out with Luna after dark.
  • Without being able to see, Unless people talk — or walk — loudly, it can be difficult to judge what six feet is. Luna and I do our best.
  • When I hear the “ding” that tells me an elevator has arrived, I point that way, command “forward! And Luna leads me to the opening. “Anybody in here?” I ask. Not sure if the elevators here are even six feet wide, so if someone answers, I urge them to go ahead without us: I’m not pressed for time!
  • Discovery: when wearing plastic disposable gloves, you can still feel the Braille dots in the elevator.
  • I finish Evening Class by Maeve Binchy. On to her novel Heart and Soul.
  • I miss Mike.
  • Day 7 of Mike’s hospital stay, and Chicago Tribune columnist Heidi Stevens contacts us to see if Mike and I would be willing to do phone interviews with her. ” I do think your story is a really important one to get in front of readers,” she writes, adding that she thinks it illustrates the complexities that this virus presents for different families. “It also emphasizes how problematic it is that testing is sometimes hard to find and the results take so long to get back, leaving families in limbo.”
  • We both are willing.
  • Heidi interviews Mike in his hospital room that morning by phone.
  • I am interviewed separately by phone at home.
  • Photographers not allowed in hospital, so Tribune photographer comes to Printers Row, meets me outside to follow Luna and me on her afternoon “empty” walk.
  • Heidi works fast. Her column about Mike is published by 5:30 pm that same afternoon.
  • I miss Mike.
  • In our evening phone call that night, Mike and I marvel at how Heidi Stevens does it: the column is beautifully written, accurate, and touching.
  • Word is out now. Mike is in the hospital with COVID 19, and I am home alone with Luna.
  • I miss Mike.
  • Okay, enough of those Irish books. I start Kill “em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by writer, musician, and national Book Award winner James McBride — he grew up near James Brown, and the book is fun to read. Now reading Slam by Nick Hornby
  • In her column, Heidi referred to Jamie’s dinner delivery group as my “meal train,” and friends, family and memoir-writing students near and far start asking me if they can hop on board.
  • “Sure!” I respond, suggesting they buy gift cards in my name at local restaurants.
  • Many of them do. Thank you all!
  • I grant Jamie’s group a furlough from the meal train and start phoning local restaurants who’ve received those gift cards to order my meals.
  • Neighborhood volunteers continue picking up and delivering those meals to our condo, and, I think, appreciate the opportunity to check in at the restaurant to-go windows and see how their friends on staff are doing.
  • I continue eating well.
  • I miss Mike,
  • I start ending my email and text responses to all the friends and family members who contact me after reading the Heidi Stevens column asking that, “If you pray, please pray for us. If you think, send good thoughts our way.”
  • They do.
  • It starts working. Mike getting better
  • So it dawns on me. Yes, Mike has been away for two weeks now, but I haven’t been here alone at all: all these people thinking about us reminds me. I’m one of the luckiest people I know
  • Over the weekend, Mike is discharged after three-day hotel stay. Clear of COVID 19, he can come home.
  • He does.
  • We hug.

If you missed it, grab a Kleenex and read this beautiful post Mike wrote about his experiences for his Mondays with Mike column earlier this week

Cheryl May On April 9, 2020 at 5:46 pm

Prayers answered ❤️

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:17 am

Hallelujah.

Tara On April 9, 2020 at 5:58 pm

Oh Beth, I am SO sorry Mike was sick and I’m relieved that you’re both OK. What a terrifying experience. But what a community you have. Sending you both love.

Patricia On April 9, 2020 at 6:03 pm

As always – your writing is beautiful and poignant. So glad you are together again.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:29 am

Thanks, Patricia. We miss you in the hood. Love to Lori and all the lovely people we met in Pittsburg on our last visit. A gift to be alive and well.

Larry Melton On April 9, 2020 at 6:28 pm

“We Hug”—Yep, and we turned the page for another chapter.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:28 am

Yes. Eager to turn the page now.

That Jim Neill On April 9, 2020 at 6:42 pm

I am sure you will make the new normal normal. I would’ve to make you a cup of tea. Properly. Boiling water. Not some rubbish from the hot tap.

JIM

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:27 am

How I wish you were here!

Robin On April 9, 2020 at 6:47 pm

Welcome home Mike. Beth, your friends at Perkins have been thinking of you and virtually holding hands. Be well.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:26 am

Great to hear from you, and thank you so much for your email, too. I’ll respond to that soon, still catching up with everything. (Safe & Sound readers looking at these comments, Robin Sitten is the narrator who reads the audible version of “Writing Out Loud” — she knws us very well!

Mel Theobald On April 9, 2020 at 7:20 pm

Beth, your post has made me so happy I just poured a glass of bourbon in your honor. So glad Mike is home and doing well, that your cast is off, and that you are together again. I’m one of those “thinking” people, but just like prayers, that sometimes works. So much to say, but I want to echo your words, “I miss Mike.” Fortunately, in the past tense. Hugs to both of you.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:24 am

Here’s to a glass of bourbon and using the past tense. And yes, good thoughts work, too — I swear I could feel them coming from everywhere. Cheers!

Hank On April 9, 2020 at 8:09 pm

Great post.
Love you!

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:21 am

Love you back, Hank.

Gretchen Livingston On April 9, 2020 at 9:01 pm

I saw Mike’s post, just read yours, and realized it had been a while since I saw a blog post. Wow! I am so glad you are both well and survived the experience in such good hands (both of you). I only get the Trib on line now so I had not seen the piece yet, but will now look for that too. Enjoy your time together. You will likely have more appreciation for each other than other families who have been in close quarters for a while now.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:19 am

That’s true. We are really enjoying/appreciating our time together. So grateful.

Nancy B On April 9, 2020 at 11:31 pm

Love this post and its happy ending.
What a journey for you both.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 4:18 am

I love happy endings. Guess that’s why I got hooked on those Maeve Binchy books — they helped me through.

Jenny On April 10, 2020 at 7:09 am

I learned from a post on FB about Mike. I’m profoundly grateful you are both okay. Your account of your experience Beth is so moving. I’ve been recalling our Octopus days back in Urbana and working with both of you. We were neighbors on California Street. Peace and blessings to you and Mike. Stay healthy.

Beth On April 10, 2020 at 9:58 am

No need for you to let me know who you are –who could ever forget Jenny Southland?! Thanks for your nostalgic note, and yes, it is a gift to be alive and healthy. Hope you are still writing/dancing/practicing yoga.

Melissa Diaz On April 10, 2020 at 12:03 pm

Hello from Florida! I’m so incredibly happy to hear you and Mike are back together at home and he has recovered! Pat, Rhiannon, and I have been praying for you’ll ever since we heard Mike had been hospitalized! I loved reading your latest post! Take care! Sending virtual hugs to you both!

Beth On April 11, 2020 at 10:33 am

I feel it all. Thanks for the prayers, and, especially, the virtual hugs.

Hava hegenbarth On April 10, 2020 at 1:10 pm

So glad Mike is recovered and that two of you are together again. I love joyful reunions. Praying you both stay healthy.

Beth On April 11, 2020 at 10:32 am

Cheers to joyful reunions!

Annelore On April 10, 2020 at 4:05 pm

Beth, how wonderful your story… you conquered yet another ‘bump’ in life. And you can be assured that all of your friends and students and neighbors appreciate you for the wonderful person you are.

Beth On April 11, 2020 at 10:31 am

What a coincidence. I love all of you for the wonderful people you are as well. Stay in good health, everyone!

Regan Burke On April 10, 2020 at 10:32 pm

I completely forgot about that cast! I love this litany. I’m wondering about the entries you edited out. I can hear the big sigh. Hope Mike’s strength is returning in your embrace. Love you both.

Beth On April 11, 2020 at 10:30 am

Well, I forgot to mention that I’m plaing the piano again now. And then there were those first three days at home, after Mike came down with the initial chills and fever and I was beside myself in fear and worry and, ell grief. I told Wanda about that later, and she said that back in the day she would have told friends who asked that, “Beth? Oh, Beth’s int eh basket. With the lid on.” Such a great metaphor, and it’s a relief to finally come out of that basket now.

Deborah Darsie On April 11, 2020 at 1:03 am

Oh my! I just realized I missed a couple posts…
Welcome home Mike, I am glad Beth does not need to miss you any longer.

Beth On April 11, 2020 at 10:28 am

Yes. I prefer saying “missed” in the past tense now: I missed Mike.

Joan Bollero On April 11, 2020 at 1:57 pm

I loved the Tribune article and your photo with Luna, and I hope Heidi Stevens does a follow up column. I did get tears in my eyes when I read Mondays with Mike. Also loved your April 9 post regarding your two weeks without Mike. I’m so glad your cast is off, that you and Mike are both doing well, that you have such terrific friends with their meal train, and that you went to the Seeing Eye to get Luna before COVID 19 hit. I was just reading an article about numerous disabled people who are on hold waiting for new dogs. Thanks for the tips on books. I really enjoyed reading “Writing Out Loud”.

Beth On April 12, 2020 at 10:56 am

Oh, Joan, so good to hear from you with all of these kind words! We’ll see if Heidi Stevens wants to do a follow-up column, right now w
e are trying to keep things , well, simple? Best wishes to you and John, thanks for the sweet comment.

Leslie Stipe On April 11, 2020 at 8:40 pm

I always enjoy reading your writing, Beth. I am glad Mike is home and so glad you have such great neighbors. Miss you and hope when all this craziness is over we can get together. Take care.

Beth On April 12, 2020 at 10:52 am

Yes. Let’s. Get together when this is over, I mean. Chheers!

Jane Thomas On April 12, 2020 at 11:12 am

Happy Easter. Glad Mike is home.

Beth On April 14, 2020 at 9:52 am

Jane, so good to hear from you. I take it you have figured out how to use a talking computer? Kudos to you!

Eve Smith On April 12, 2020 at 4:51 pm

Oh my gosh, Beth! I’m catching up on emails and reading your and Mike’s recent posts – so glad to hear he’s on the mend and home recovering. I guess this will all be good content for your next memoir (hint, hint), but in the meantime thinking of you both and hoping you continue to be well! P.S. Glad to see you’re still editing the Easterseals blog .

mknezo2014 On April 13, 2020 at 5:09 pm

Eve! Hope you’re well!

Beth On April 14, 2020 at 9:51 am

Eve, so great to hear from you. Not sure I have another memoir in me, and if anyone should write one about all this, it should be Mike (hint, hint) And what a coincidence: I, too, am glad to still be moderating the blog for EasterSeals=I feel like the “last man standing” from our group back in 2005. All thanks to you and Shirley Sexton that I have that job, and I appreciate them for keeping me on so long. With all my memoir-writing classes cancelled for now, my EasterSeals is my only paid work, very grateful.

Nancy A Mittleman On April 13, 2020 at 7:22 pm

Hello from New Jersey!! Beth, I read Mike’s post and then yours, and yes, I had the tissues next to me. Reading about Mike’s ordeal in the hospital and afterwards was so eye opening. Both my kids live in NYC (one in Manhattan and the other in Queens, although they are with us here in south Jersey now) so I have been following the stories, and know quite a few people who contracted the virus, but Mike’s account was the only firsthand telling I have read. I am so very happy to know he is home and on the mend. Your post was so heartwarming, from the friends who purchased and delivered food to the sing a longs – it was the bright spot in my day!! So glad that you and Luna fared so well. I am now going to read the Chicago Tribune story. Stay safe and be well.
– Nancy (and Tarik!)

Beth On April 14, 2020 at 9:46 am

Nancy, so glad your kids are with you in South Jersey, those stories from NYC are scary. So sweet of you to leave a comment here, all good wishes to you, and, especially, to Turik!

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