It’s Fluid: Adjust and Re-Adjust

From Dean Crowe, Founder and CEO

Dear Rally Families and Rally Supporters,

When I started hearing about the coronavirus and how especially dangerous it is for the immune-compromised population, I immediately thought, “This is what childhood cancer parents live with every single day.”

While the majority of the U.S. population is learning the importance and being asked to put into practice the list below posted by one of our cancer moms, she said it well when she said,

We’ve been trained for this:

• Social isolation ✅
• Avoiding unnecessary travel ✅
• Sanitizing every possible surface ✅
• Homeschooling children ✅
• Avoiding anyone even remotely ill ✅
• Wearing gloves and masks in public ✅
• Next-level handwashing ✅
• Avoiding large gatherings and crowds ✅
• Stocking meds and supplies ✅
• Constantly monitoring for symptoms ✅

At Rally we ask that you follow this list and help stop the spread of COVID-19. We ask that you also remember to be kind to one another understanding that people respond differently to stress.

Your best source of information is from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. The National Institutes of Health also has good information. Johns Hopkins has a worldwide map that is updated several times throughout the day.

It is important to listen and follow the requests of our elected officials.

My oldest son is a neurology resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He said the situation changes so fast that he isn’t even sure he can use the word fluid to describe it.

Pediatric oncologist and Rally Medical Advisory Board member Dr. Doug Hawkins from Seattle Children’s said, “Seattle was hit earlier and harder than other parts of the United States, but COVID-19 will affect every city in every state in some way over the next few months. The situation is really unprecedented in our lifetime. All communities and medical institutions will need to do their part to protect the most vulnerable in our society and provide care for those who develop COVID-19 illness.”

I want to be honest. At first, I really didn’t understand how this was different than the flu. This is what I learned from research and conversations with experts. Flu season starts in early October and ends in May. (1) That is about seven months.

COVID-19 hits fast, hard and spreads very quickly meaning large numbers will all be seeking medical care at the same time. (2)

In severe cases COVID-19 spreads quickly to the lungs. Our healthcare system is working around the clock to be equipped to deal with the speed at which COVID-19 spreads. But currently we simply do not have enough rooms in the ERs, enough inpatient hospital beds and possibly not enough ventilators for the potential number of advanced cases, unless we stop the spread of COVID-19.

That means each of us must do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19 in America, in our states, in our cities and in our neighborhoods. Rally and its Board of Directors believe it is important to be overly cautious.

In order to help accomplish minimizing the potential spread of the virus, Rally is open, but our team will be working from home. We are committed to our mission to empower volunteers to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. Most importantly, we are here for you. We have postponed Gold On the Greenway, Ruby’s Dance ‘Til You Drop 2 and Day of Pampering in Atlanta to a later date. And we will continue to be fluid, adjust and re-adjust as needed.

Please pray for all our healthcare workers, the immune-compromised, our national and local leaders and all Americans.

I have learned many, many lessons from childhood cancer families. One of the biggest is their ability to be fluid and adjust and then readjust again as information changes. That is what we all must do. And if you need to talk to someone who has ‘been there, done that’, just ask a childhood cancer mom or dad. They have plenty of real-life experiences in this area.

Thanks, and Rally On!

Dean

1. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2019-2020.htm
2. https://www.nih.gov/health-information/coronavirus