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Visiting Jan During COVID

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes, 32 seconds
Visiting Jan During COVID

Visiting Jan During COVID

The Visit

“Welcome. Before seeing your wife, put on this hospital gown, gloves, and shoe coverings,” said the nurse as she welcomed me to the COVID unit. I have never been good at putting on hospital gowns, but I did it on the first try. The gloves and shoe coverings were a little more complicated.

When they opened the door to her room, Jan’s smile was so large and warm that it melted my heart and could have melted every ice cube in the universe.

I love you,” Jan shouted.

I responded with, “I love you so very much!”

Visiting Jan During COVID
Jan Lilien

The nurse asked me, “Would you like a photo?”

I handed her my iPhone and did not even think of taking my mask off.

“How do these photos look?”

Jan said they were perfect.

As this nurse left, she said I could take off my mask.

I stopped getting lunch ready and reached over and kissed Jan. It had been so long since we were together that this kiss felt like our first.

As soon as we finished lunch, Dr. Strair entered the room. I reach for my mask, but he says it is OK to say unmasked.

Jan and I start to speak at the same time. “Thanks…”

I stop, and Jan finishes our shared thought, “Thanks for letting Richard visit me.

I was worried about your emotional state and advocated for a visit,” Dr. Strair responded.

“Thank you so very much,” I said.

“We analyzed the pathology report, and it indicated that Janice has an expression of CD30, which is very treatable, and we plan to begin therapy tomorrow. The treatment is effective and fast-acting and does not lower blood counts,” said Dr. Strair.

It was Jan’s first hearing about this, and she looked relieved and happy.

This is wonderful news,” she said. “Are there any side effects or risks?”

Dr. Strair explained moderate risks but stressed the potential for rapid improvement.

“I am willing to try anything that will help me.”

“Good, I will write the orders to start treatment.”

“I just want her healthy and home,” I say.

We had survived COVID, the never-ending ER visit, but we were together and had hope. This lucky break made us believe that Spring was about to burst open.

We were more in love than ever when I walked back to our car.

Jan will live; I screamed as I walked into the parking deck. She is going to live and be home soon.

The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Living With Loss, One Day at a Time

Read: September 2021

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Living With Loss, One Day at a Time

by Rachel Blythe Kodanaz

Living With Loss, One Day at a Time by Rachel Blythe Kodanaz is the book I would recommend for anyone beginning or in the early stages of grief. It should be on the griever’s nightstand so they can start and end their day with reading.

Ms. Kodanaz has presented at my bereavement groups and has been an inspiration. She encouraged me not only to continue writing but also to share my thoughts publicly.

Usually, I only write a review once I have finished the book. However, this is a collection of thoughts for each day of the journey. Over the first weekend, I read up to the number of days since my wife died. Now I will read the daily message each day. When I get to the end of the year, I will start over.

There are many essential gems in the daily readings. The one for Day 9, Love Never Dies, jumped off the page due to my writings on the same theme.

Love Never Dies. Your loved one has passed away, but the love you shared has not died. The memories you created, the connection you built together, and your affection toward one another will live forever.

Embrace the love and cherish the memories, as they will always be a part of you remain in your heart.

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Read: September 2021

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A Good Neighborhood

by Therese Anne Fowler

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The effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love make this a must-read book.

I recommend the book to all readers.

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Read: July 2023

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Ripe: A Novel by Sarah Rose Etter

by Sarah Rose Etter

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Cassie finds herself pregnant unexpectedly while dealing with her CEO’s illegal demands. She must weigh the benefits of Silicon Valley against the risks. Ripe follows the journey of one millennial woman through the absurdities of modern life, offering a sharp yet vulnerable, unsettling yet darkly comic commentary on our late-capitalist hellscape.

The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Read: February 2023

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Mercy Street: A Novel

by Jennifer Haigh

Mercy Street: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh is a tense, riveting story about the disparate lives intersecting at a Boston women’s clinic. The novel was named Best Book of the Year by the Washington Post, the New Yorker, and the Boston Globe. Mercy Street is a novel for right now, a story of the polarized American present. Ms. Haigh is a gifted storyteller who has written a very readable book. I highly recommend it. 

I truly enjoyed Mercy Street. I read her short story Zenith Man and enjoyed her storytelling skills. I wanted to read her most recent novel. Until the last few pages, I was unsure how Ms. Haigh‘s intricate storylines could conclude the story. Usually, I can predict how a story will unfold well before I finish reading it. Mercy Street was a rare exception to that rule.

I have never had to run the gauntlet in front of a women’s clinic, but Ms. Haigh has made that experience so real that I could taste it. The day-to-day work of the staff and the clients was detailed and believable. The male characters, Timmy, the affable pot dealer; Anthony, a lost soul; and Excelsior11, the screenname of Victor Prine, were drafted credibly.

As stated earlier, I highly recommend this book.

Jennifer Haigh is the author of seven best-selling, critically acclaimed works of fiction. Her first, Mrs. Kimble, won the PEN Hemingway Award for debut fiction. Her latest, Mercy Street, was named a Best Book of 2022 by the New Yorker and won the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. A Guggenheim fellow and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate, she lives in Boston.

When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!

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The Letter Carrier

Read: July 2025

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The Letter Carrier: A Novel

by Francesca Giannone

In the bestselling novel that has captivated readers in Italy, The Letter Carrier by Francesca Giannone depicts a small town in southern Italy that reflects the experiences of many others. It portrays the lives of women and men—husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters—as they strive to navigate the world while remaining true to their hearts. The Letter Carrier explores the universal theme of connection and examines the consequences that arise when those connections occur at the wrong time.

Salento, Italy, June 1934: A coach stops in the main square of Lizzanello, a tight-knit village where everyone knows each other. A couple gets off: The man, Carlo, a Southerner, is happy to be back home after a long time away; the woman, Anna—his wife—is a Northerner. Carlo’s brother is there to meet them, and he, along with everyone else, can’t help but notice that Anna is as beautiful as a Greek statue.

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Letters connect people, conveying both information and emotion. But for some in Lizzanello, letters are too little and too late.

Francesca Giannone holds a degree in communication science and studied at the CSC, the oldest film school in Europe, located in Rome. She has published several short stories in literary magazines, both in print and online. Currently, Giannone resides in Milan, but her heart remains in her hometown of Lizzanello, a seaside town in the Salento region of Italy. She hopes to return there to live one day.

Elettra Pauletto translated The Letter Carrier. After earning her MFA from Columbia University, she has split her time between writing about her experiences in Africa—specifically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Senegal—and translating fiction and nonfiction works from Italian and French into English. In both her writing and translations, she heavily relies on her background as a former political risk analyst who covered Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!

Enjoy a limited-time offer of 20% off your next book purchase at Bookshop.org!

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Read: September 2022

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The Friend: A Novel

by Sigrid Nunez

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One line that resonated with me was,

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The Goodreads summary provides a concise overview,

The woman’s own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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I receive a commission when you buy a book or product using a link on this page. Thank you for supporting Sharing Jan’s Love blog.

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