Happy Easter

I wanted to take time out to wish you all a Happy Easter.  I know for many of us that are used to spending today with family and/or friends it may feel very strange. Today I watched my church service online, had a zoom call with my family and we watched my nieces hunt for Easter eggs in their yard. It’s not ideal but it worked. I miss them so much. But, we are safe and healthy and that what truly matters. 

For many of us this past month has been a blur. The days have blended together to the point we may often find ourselves wondering what day it is. Many maybe working from home, home schooling their kids, taking care of loved ones, working outside of the home and still trying to find time for self care. To everyone out there I’d like to say, “You are amazing!”.  Although sometimes it maybe overwhelming and the uncertainty anxiety provoking, each and every one of us has an important role to play during this pandemic. We may not fully see it or understand it but the mere act of staying home as much as possible is saving lives. We may see the numbers on the news and the negative things that maybe happening around us but I need you to understand that you are making a difference. We need more people to understand this and do their part. 

To those that have no choice but to continue working, thank you. Thank you for all that you do. For those that are “essential”, please take all precautions. Be vocal to your employer about implementing protocols to protect the employees safety including implementing social distancing, wearing masks and frequent breaks to wash your hands. 

I ask that everyone continue to implement these precautions into your daily lives. For many of us it has been about a month since we have been isolating. It may seem like an eternity. We are eager to go back to “normal”.  I ask that you bear with it a little bit longer. For the  first week we are seeing the rate of acceleration in Florida plateau, which is a good sign. This means these measures are beginning to help to flatten the curve. However, we still need to continue the measures in order to continue to keep that plateau and not start towards the peak again. 

We are all in this together. Each and every single one of us are going through the same crisis. We may have different circumstances and situations but all of us in the entire planet are in this together. Be kind to one another. Check on each other. Call/video chat people often. Love yourself. Take time for yourself. Be kind to yourself. It’s ok to feel whatever it is that you are feeling right now at this moment. 

Please remember that we are here for you at Velez Family Health. We will do everything in our power to continue to serve our community. We will continue to practice telemedicine for as long as we need to in order to keep you safe and keep our staff safe. We ask for your understanding and patience during these times. We are human too. We are also going through this. We each have our own individual journeys we are going through. 

My prayers go out to everyone daily for strength, health, protection and peace. To my fellow healthcare workers and all other essential personnel out there- Thank you! Thank you for your courage, and selflessness. Thank you for being you and for doing such an amazing job. You are the true heroes. You are the people that typically fly under the radar and are not appreciated enough. From the bottom of our hearts Velez Family Health thanks you. 

Lastly, the CDC recommendation is that everyone wear a mask in public. We would like to have anyone making cloth masks to contact us so that we can share your contact information on our website to help our community obtain masks for themselves and their families. I understand many of you are making them for medical personnel and that is appreciated. But, the general public needs to begin wearing masks too so that we can decrease the amount of people that the healthcare workers have to be caring for and exposed to. You can reply back to this email with your contact information if you would like for us to add you to our website. 

Be safe everyone,

Tania Velez, MD