I have an interesting prospective on the recent global pandemic as a full-time Microbiologist at the Center for Disease Control and a business owner.
As a Microbiologist....
I've worked at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for 10 years in the Influenza Division. With an understanding of how viruses affect the respiratory system, this novel Corona virus disease 2019 (Covid-19), was an interesting virus to say the least. The research suggest that this virus started in bats and/or rodents and this single-stranded RNA virus has the unique ability to effectively cross species (humans) causing severe illness and even death. After discovering the devastating toll the Covid-19 had on Wuhan, China in January, who knew that this virus would quickly become a global pandemic. With over 2.8 million people infected and nearly 200,000 death worldwide (the numbers are rapidly changing each day), this pandemic is like none we have ever seen. We are now flooded with this information each day as we turn on the news and reminded of our new state of being as we attempt to prepare ourselves for a grocery store run. Never before have we seen so many people wearing masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) outside of hospitals and laboratories. We are forced to practice social distancing to help slow the virus in our communities which protect our elderly population and those with underlining health conditions. Here in the state of Georgia we have a shelter in place order to help flatten the curve as to avoid overwhelming our healthcare system and front-liners. There are many questions that come to mind when faced with this "invisible enemy", one being when will this all come to an end? There are many human trials across the world that are underway in an effort to find a cure for this virus, but the short answer is we don't know with certainty when it will end.
What is Courageous Creation doing during the pandemic?
As a fashion brand business, I know how important it is to have a stockpile of fabric on hand (hence the reason why I shop nearly every week for fabric). Fashion is always changing and because I work sometimes off of emotions, I need to have the fabric available when the Creator (the Trinity (God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to be clear) gives me an idea to create. As you would expect, the use of PPE was in overdrive at the hospitals and laboratories across the globe in addition to citizens buying them for personal use. The shortage became 'real' really quickly and there was now a high demand for homemade fabric mask. Well, because I had an adequate amount of cotton fabric in my sewing studio (by adequate I mean more than I want to admit too), I found a pattern from the MiMig youtube page and began making mask to help meet the demand of my local community. It started out with a few healthcare workers, firefighter and homeless shelters to making mask for co-workers and shipping them across the country. At this point, I've done well over 100+ mask for FREE! It is my way of showing God's love to so many people who have experience fear, loss of a loved one or the feeling of hopelessness. My fabric reserve of cotton fabric is just about depleted and I'm excited to stock up on more fabric. Just not for another pandemic!
