It’s okay. He gave me a plushie COVID… rather than the little viral version.
I was on Bluesky this morning and someone I follow there was writing about giving her plushies and dolls a pretend vaccination to help her process the current US measles outbreaks
That reminded me of something that one of my friends did during COVID.
He was really worried about giving me COVID while I was shielding… I was extremely vulnerable & going through tests for cancer at the time.
We didn’t know what would happen if I caught COVID. We knew it would delay the tests & potentially prevent me accessing treatment if I did have cancer.
My friend decided it was best to give me a COVID plushie.
He’s a really lovely plushie.
It’s one of the many acts of kindness from the people around me in my life.
Little plushie COVID gently asks if he can live in my lungs every time I see him. But he stays out when I say no.
He gets annoyed if other viruses sneak in without asking. He’s very protective of me. He makes me smile.
We made COVID tangible. He helps me understand & remember things. He likes hanging out on hard surfaces, Sometimes he’s airborne (when we play catch) and he’s always reminding me to wash my hands.
It’s pretty odd to have a friendly COVID plushie, but not that odd really. Many of my plushies are dangerous in the real world, my room is filled with Lion’s, Sharks, Tigers and more.
COVID (the plushie) bridges the abstract to the actual. Makes a hidden risk visible, and helps to keep me safe. It’s rather brilliant :)
