
Interview by Maile Biehl
The Falconer: What have your feelings been like throughout the Covid-19 pandemic?
Mrs. O’Connor: Like everybody, when it first started, it was very overwhelming and from the perspective of a nurse and having experience with public health and communicable disease, it was scary for me because I was thinking about what it may imply and impose on the community. I think it went from overwhelming to a little scary, for everybody. There was a lot of uncertainty. I think whenever we feel uncertain about a situation, we feel a little anxious about what it will mean for all of us.
The Falconer: How have you been coping with the changes this pandemic has caused?
Mrs. O’Connor: When I think of coping, I think of coping strategies, so for me personally, it's been really important to keep connected with my friends by phone and the internet and staying as connected as I can to my family. My children live far away and I haven't seen one of my daughters in over a year or my grandchildren so I've been trying to keep as connected as I can through those means. I also cope by getting outside, getting some fresh air and exercise. I love to hike and I love to bike. In the summer it was nice because you could do that a little easier than you can now, but even now, I think it's important to get out and spend some time in nature. That's been my coping strategy throughout my adult life, to get out into nature. Those are the things I've done to be more physically healthy and to feel more settled emotionally.
The Falconer: What have your feelings been like throughout the Covid-19 pandemic?
Mrs. O’Connor: Like everybody, when it first started, it was very overwhelming and from the perspective of a nurse and having experience with public health and communicable disease, it was scary for me because I was thinking about what it may imply and impose on the community. I think it went from overwhelming to a little scary, for everybody. There was a lot of uncertainty. I think whenever we feel uncertain about a situation, we feel a little anxious about what it will mean for all of us.
The Falconer: How have you been coping with the changes this pandemic has caused?
Mrs. O’Connor: When I think of coping, I think of coping strategies, so for me personally, it's been really important to keep connected with my friends by phone and the internet and staying as connected as I can to my family. My children live far away and I haven't seen one of my daughters in over a year or my grandchildren so I've been trying to keep as connected as I can through those means. I also cope by getting outside, getting some fresh air and exercise. I love to hike and I love to bike. In the summer it was nice because you could do that a little easier than you can now, but even now, I think it's important to get out and spend some time in nature. That's been my coping strategy throughout my adult life, to get out into nature. Those are the things I've done to be more physically healthy and to feel more settled emotionally.