{"id":58024,"date":"2020-12-03T08:26:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T15:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=58024"},"modified":"2021-02-11T21:12:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T04:12:56","slug":"keeping-high-risk-loved-ones-safe-during-covid-can-be-a-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2020\/12\/03\/keeping-high-risk-loved-ones-safe-during-covid-can-be-a-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping high risk loved ones safe during COVID can be a challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Safe at Home?: <\/strong>Jessica Spencer, left, Sheila Crabbe, centre, and Melissa Spencer at home in Calgary on Nov. 6. Jessica and Melissa Spencer are at a much higher risk to contract the novel coronavirus due to their medical conditions. As a result, their entire family has had to take extra precautions to ensure their safety both in and out of the house. (Photo by Ethan Allan\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

W<\/span>hile the COVID-19 pandemic has left many taking precautions in order to prevent the spread, immuno-compromised individuals must take these precautions within their own family.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s been tough, we really haven\u2019t had a place where we can go very much,\u201d said Sheila Crabbe, a mother of two, and step-mother of three.<\/p>\n

Crabbe\u2019s two biological daughters, Jessica and Melissa, share the same disability that would significantly increase the severity of their symptoms if they were to catch COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were told by their doctor at the very beginning that they wouldn\u2019t survive this, that we need to keep them safe because this will kill them,\u201d said Crabbe.<\/p>\n

With such an importance put on remaining healthy, Crabbe decided that the best course of action would be to remove herself and her daughters from the busy home she shares with her husband and step children.<\/p>\n

The three of them left and lived at a campground away from the rest of the family, which inadvertently caused more anxieties due to the remoteness of their new location.<\/p>\n

Later, they decided to leave the campground and stay with Crabbe\u2019s father in B.C. until a time they thought it would be safer to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just knew his level of risk tolerance and ours is pretty much the same, we both have to be just as careful,\u201d said Crabbe.<\/p>\n

Crabbe and her daughters spent more than a month away from the rest of the family, eventually moving back home, but still being wary of the risks involved with their return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to really do much of anything with our friend group,\u201d said Richard Crabbe, Sheila\u2019s husband.<\/p>\n

“We need to be very, very careful, probably way more careful than most other people do.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they try to retain a sense of normalcy using crafts and video calls, the entire family must work as a unit to ensure the safety of Jessica and Melissa, both in and out of the house.<\/p>\n

As the current numbers show the active cases in Alberta are rising. The Crabbe family hope to see a swifter and more efficient response from the government to tackle to spread.<\/p>\n

We were told by their doctor at the very beginning that they wouldn\u2019t survive this, that we need to keep them safe because this will kill them. – Sheila Crabbe<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The city of Calgary has already implemented stricter rules as of Nov. 6, putting a limit on the number of attendees at indoor family gatherings as well, according to the government of Alberta website.<\/p>\n

But as the days go on, they continue to prepare for a future that is both uncertain and anxious, knowing everything could change at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust never knowing where we\u2019re going to be from week to week and just kind of holding our breath for the last six months has been a bit of a challenge,\u201d said Sheila Crabbe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the COVID-19 pandemic has left many taking precautions in order to prevent the spread, immunocompromised individuals must take these precautions within their own family. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":630,"featured_media":58025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S3 Immunocompromised During COVID","footnotes":""},"categories":[711],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/630"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58024"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58736,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58024\/revisions\/58736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}