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| Meet This Popular Essential Worker. And Give Her a Scratch Behind the Ear. | Meet This Popular Essential Worker. And Give Her a Scratch Behind the Ear. |
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| In early March, Everett Gray’s transplanted heart began to fail. A couple months shy of the five-year anniversary of receiving his “miracle heart,” the 8-year-old was admitted to the cardiac I.C.U. at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, as his immune system battled with the heart that saved his life as a toddler. | In early March, Everett Gray’s transplanted heart began to fail. A couple months shy of the five-year anniversary of receiving his “miracle heart,” the 8-year-old was admitted to the cardiac I.C.U. at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, as his immune system battled with the heart that saved his life as a toddler. |
| It wasn’t Everett’s first time in the hospital: Born with a rare heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, he’s been a regular patient from birth. No child enjoys a hospital stay, but Everett, a second-grader who loves dinosaur fossils and Legos, finds his own silver linings in hospital visits, from musicians and bingo games with other kids. | It wasn’t Everett’s first time in the hospital: Born with a rare heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, he’s been a regular patient from birth. No child enjoys a hospital stay, but Everett, a second-grader who loves dinosaur fossils and Legos, finds his own silver linings in hospital visits, from musicians and bingo games with other kids. |
| “It’s kind of a coping thing for him,” said his mother, Kelley Gray. “He’ll say, ‘well, at least the kid’s hospital is better than an adult hospital.’” Most grown-up hospitals don’t have clowns roaming the halls. | “It’s kind of a coping thing for him,” said his mother, Kelley Gray. “He’ll say, ‘well, at least the kid’s hospital is better than an adult hospital.’” Most grown-up hospitals don’t have clowns roaming the halls. |
| But when the little boy woke up in recovery in March, there weren’t any clowns. Instead, the whole world had changed, seemingly overnight. | But when the little boy woke up in recovery in March, there weren’t any clowns. Instead, the whole world had changed, seemingly overnight. |
| By mid-March, Covid-19 had grown from a threat to a full-blown health care crisis. In response, the hospital enacted strict visitor limitations (one parent per child, no siblings or friends) and suspended nearly all the activities that had once helped make Everett’s hospital stays a little more bearable. No more art cart, no more bingo. | By mid-March, Covid-19 had grown from a threat to a full-blown health care crisis. In response, the hospital enacted strict visitor limitations (one parent per child, no siblings or friends) and suspended nearly all the activities that had once helped make Everett’s hospital stays a little more bearable. No more art cart, no more bingo. |
| “Things were just being taken away,” said his mother. “But Izzy was still there.” | “Things were just being taken away,” said his mother. “But Izzy was still there.” |
| Izzy is a 70-pound, 10-year-old golden retriever with a blonde coat and ears as soft as velvet. She is one of 15 full-time facility dogs employed by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Canines For Kids program. And from the beginning of the pandemic, she and six of her canine colleagues have reported for hospital duty as essential workers. | Izzy is a 70-pound, 10-year-old golden retriever with a blonde coat and ears as soft as velvet. She is one of 15 full-time facility dogs employed by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Canines For Kids program. And from the beginning of the pandemic, she and six of her canine colleagues have reported for hospital duty as essential workers. |
| Animal-assisted therapy is a popular tool for distracting and comforting pediatric patients. While conclusive evidence is limited, some studies suggest that interacting, playing or just being in the same room with trained therapy dogs may improve pain and blood pressure after surgery, reduce pain and stress during blood draws and elevate mood. | Animal-assisted therapy is a popular tool for distracting and comforting pediatric patients. While conclusive evidence is limited, some studies suggest that interacting, playing or just being in the same room with trained therapy dogs may improve pain and blood pressure after surgery, reduce pain and stress during blood draws and elevate mood. |
| For families like the Grays, navigating their own crisis alongside the stress of a deadly pandemic, Izzy and her fellow canines took on hero status in recent months. So called “child life” programs aim to normalize the hospital environment and help kids feel like kids. Covid-19 obliterated most of those activities, but many of the dogs still dutifully clock in to brighten their days. | For families like the Grays, navigating their own crisis alongside the stress of a deadly pandemic, Izzy and her fellow canines took on hero status in recent months. So called “child life” programs aim to normalize the hospital environment and help kids feel like kids. Covid-19 obliterated most of those activities, but many of the dogs still dutifully clock in to brighten their days. |
| “Their very presence has normalized things — for everybody, but particularly for young patients,” said Jennifer Arnold, founder and director of Canine Assistants. | “Their very presence has normalized things — for everybody, but particularly for young patients,” said Jennifer Arnold, founder and director of Canine Assistants. |
| The Georgia-based organization has trained and supplied over 80 facility dogs to children’s hospitals around the country. During the pandemic, physical touch is limited, and friendly faces are hidden beneath masks. Hugs are out of the question. “It’s very hard on the kids. But getting to love on the dogs, and even being able to see their faces, is a bigger deal than you might realize,” she said. | The Georgia-based organization has trained and supplied over 80 facility dogs to children’s hospitals around the country. During the pandemic, physical touch is limited, and friendly faces are hidden beneath masks. Hugs are out of the question. “It’s very hard on the kids. But getting to love on the dogs, and even being able to see their faces, is a bigger deal than you might realize,” she said. |
| As the coronavirus caseload grew to alarming levels, most hospitals suspended programs run by volunteers, including volunteer therapy dog programs. But other institutions, such as Mount Sinai in New York and Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, have in-house dog teams and have kept their pups in service, with measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. | As the coronavirus caseload grew to alarming levels, most hospitals suspended programs run by volunteers, including volunteer therapy dog programs. But other institutions, such as Mount Sinai in New York and Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, have in-house dog teams and have kept their pups in service, with measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. |
| Izzy’s handler, Vandie Enloe, now removes the dog’s vest before visiting a patient and disinfects her coat, paws and new silicone leash more frequently. She also bathes the dog twice a week, instead of just Sundays. | Izzy’s handler, Vandie Enloe, now removes the dog’s vest before visiting a patient and disinfects her coat, paws and new silicone leash more frequently. She also bathes the dog twice a week, instead of just Sundays. |
| For both parents and their kids, a lengthy hospitalization is tough. “It’s not only the fear of hospitalization, or the illness,” said Diane Rode, director of child life at Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital. “It’s the isolation, it’s the uncertainty.” | For both parents and their kids, a lengthy hospitalization is tough. “It’s not only the fear of hospitalization, or the illness,” said Diane Rode, director of child life at Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital. “It’s the isolation, it’s the uncertainty.” |
| Enduring that during a pandemic is especially difficult. And in states like Georgia, which recently surpassed 100,000 recorded cases of Covid-19, that isn’t likely to change soon. | Enduring that during a pandemic is especially difficult. And in states like Georgia, which recently surpassed 100,000 recorded cases of Covid-19, that isn’t likely to change soon. |
| But dogs fill in some of those gaps as a much-needed friendly face, calming presence and cuddle buddy. And as the pandemic abruptly changed the hospital experience, a dog like Izzy is an anchor for a kid. | But dogs fill in some of those gaps as a much-needed friendly face, calming presence and cuddle buddy. And as the pandemic abruptly changed the hospital experience, a dog like Izzy is an anchor for a kid. |
| Dogs can also normalize the pandemic. Professor, a goldendoodle and the most senior member of Mount Sinai’s Paws and Play program, donned a face shield to make the equipment a little less frightening. Moby, another goldendoodle in the crew, conducted a live tour of Mount Sinai’s Central Park field hospital, to alleviate the fears of kids who could see it from their rooms. | Dogs can also normalize the pandemic. Professor, a goldendoodle and the most senior member of Mount Sinai’s Paws and Play program, donned a face shield to make the equipment a little less frightening. Moby, another goldendoodle in the crew, conducted a live tour of Mount Sinai’s Central Park field hospital, to alleviate the fears of kids who could see it from their rooms. |
| For medically fragile patients who couldn’t leave their rooms or meet the dogs in person, virtual doggie visits came by way of digital tablets connected to robots on wheels. During these sessions, patients are just happy to watch Professor chase a tennis ball, according to Morgan Stojanowski, assistant director of the child life department at Kravis Children’s. “Kids just wanted to be reminded that their relationship was still there.” | For medically fragile patients who couldn’t leave their rooms or meet the dogs in person, virtual doggie visits came by way of digital tablets connected to robots on wheels. During these sessions, patients are just happy to watch Professor chase a tennis ball, according to Morgan Stojanowski, assistant director of the child life department at Kravis Children’s. “Kids just wanted to be reminded that their relationship was still there.” |
| Updated July 15, 2020 | Updated July 15, 2020 |
| The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation, and may help explain super-spreading events reported in meatpacking plants, churches and restaurants. It’s unclear how often the virus is spread via these tiny droplets, or aerosols, compared with larger droplets that are expelled when a sick person coughs or sneezes, or transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. Aerosols are released even when a person without symptoms exhales, talks or sings, according to Dr. Marr and more than 200 other experts, who have outlined the evidence in an open letter to the World Health Organization. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| In Atlanta, that relationship became a crucial part of Everett’s clinical recovery, which looked dramatically different without art therapy and game nights. “But we were so lucky that Izzy was considered essential,” Kelley Gray said. “Because to Everett, Izzy is essential.” | In Atlanta, that relationship became a crucial part of Everett’s clinical recovery, which looked dramatically different without art therapy and game nights. “But we were so lucky that Izzy was considered essential,” Kelley Gray said. “Because to Everett, Izzy is essential.” |
| In the hospital’s family library, Everett would lay on the floor with Izzy, stroke her fur, talk to her and even read to her. The curly-haired second-grader especially liked Izzy’s gentle, insistent pawing whenever he stopped petting her. “He feels like Izzy is his best friend at the hospital, and that she loves him the most, he must be her favorite boy,” his mother said. | In the hospital’s family library, Everett would lay on the floor with Izzy, stroke her fur, talk to her and even read to her. The curly-haired second-grader especially liked Izzy’s gentle, insistent pawing whenever he stopped petting her. “He feels like Izzy is his best friend at the hospital, and that she loves him the most, he must be her favorite boy,” his mother said. |
| And it’s not just kids. Klein said that the hospital’s dogs have played an important role for parents too. “A parent in the hospital, they don’t have anyone to go to,” she said, adding that dogs are just as happy to comfort adults. | And it’s not just kids. Klein said that the hospital’s dogs have played an important role for parents too. “A parent in the hospital, they don’t have anyone to go to,” she said, adding that dogs are just as happy to comfort adults. |
| “We had people say, ‘We didn’t know if you’d be here or not,’ because so many things didn’t get to continue,” Enloe said over Zoom with Izzy’s head on her lap. She stopped stroking Izzy’s shoulders for a moment, and the dog issued a lazy reprimand with her paw. “So to be able to do that, and to be here for our families, has been amazing. It’s our honor, and Izzy’s calling.” | “We had people say, ‘We didn’t know if you’d be here or not,’ because so many things didn’t get to continue,” Enloe said over Zoom with Izzy’s head on her lap. She stopped stroking Izzy’s shoulders for a moment, and the dog issued a lazy reprimand with her paw. “So to be able to do that, and to be here for our families, has been amazing. It’s our honor, and Izzy’s calling.” |
| After 40 days, Everett left the hospital in April to a different world. His school was closed. His family wasn’t able to celebrate his homecoming as they had before, with a welcome home party or a visit to the dinosaur bones at the natural history museum. And he couldn’t see his friends. | After 40 days, Everett left the hospital in April to a different world. His school was closed. His family wasn’t able to celebrate his homecoming as they had before, with a welcome home party or a visit to the dinosaur bones at the natural history museum. And he couldn’t see his friends. |
| Now, three months after being discharged, Everett is “getting a little stronger every day,” his mother said. Earlier this summer, he even got to play with a few friends in the backyard, wearing masks and staying six feet apart. But in Georgia, Covid-19 has spiked in recent weeks, and the Gray family has become more cautious. | Now, three months after being discharged, Everett is “getting a little stronger every day,” his mother said. Earlier this summer, he even got to play with a few friends in the backyard, wearing masks and staying six feet apart. But in Georgia, Covid-19 has spiked in recent weeks, and the Gray family has become more cautious. |
| “We’re really nervous,” said Kelley Gray. While the state hasn’t yet decided whether schools will reopen this fall, Everett won’t return to a classroom until a vaccine is available. “We’ve talked about it a little bit, and he didn’t melt down,” she said. “But when it gets to the actual first day of school, if other kids are going back and he’s not, that will be challenging. It’s just the unfairness of it all, which is a theme in his life.” | “We’re really nervous,” said Kelley Gray. While the state hasn’t yet decided whether schools will reopen this fall, Everett won’t return to a classroom until a vaccine is available. “We’ve talked about it a little bit, and he didn’t melt down,” she said. “But when it gets to the actual first day of school, if other kids are going back and he’s not, that will be challenging. It’s just the unfairness of it all, which is a theme in his life.” |
| Everett regularly returns to the hospital for lab work and appointments with specialists and, naturally, visits with Izzy. For Everett, these reunions are a rare bright spot, especially when it seems like everything else — play dates, beach trips, the promise of another first day at school this fall — has been taken away. | Everett regularly returns to the hospital for lab work and appointments with specialists and, naturally, visits with Izzy. For Everett, these reunions are a rare bright spot, especially when it seems like everything else — play dates, beach trips, the promise of another first day at school this fall — has been taken away. |
| In June, one of Everett’s appointments fell on Izzy’s 10th birthday, which the hospital would normally celebrate with a birthday party. Instead, it was a party for two. Everett made a birthday card for her, and Izzy wore a pink chiffon wreath around her neck. And he gave her a big hug when he arrived. | In June, one of Everett’s appointments fell on Izzy’s 10th birthday, which the hospital would normally celebrate with a birthday party. Instead, it was a party for two. Everett made a birthday card for her, and Izzy wore a pink chiffon wreath around her neck. And he gave her a big hug when he arrived. |
| Gray Chapman is a freelance journalist living in Atlanta. | Gray Chapman is a freelance journalist living in Atlanta. |