Hello 2022! Dr. Williams First Blog of the Year .... Happy New Year!
Happy New Year. I am hoping and praying for better things in 2022.
This time last year there was so much hope that we would emerge from the pandemic. I found a Christmas ornament that had been given to me last year that said, "Survived 2020."
As far as the pandemic goes, it's becoming more and more evident that Covid is likely never "going away," but is going to be part of life.
As I reflect back on 2021, it seems like a blur, and I blame Covid for my feelings. 2021, in short, felt like 365 groundhog days! And, unfortunately, 2022 is not looking much brighter in terms of Covid.
The case numbers are high due to Omicron, but now tests are in short supply, so who knows how high the Covid numbers really are?.
On top of that, testing still remains problematic in terms of false positives and negatives. But despite record daily case numbers, the hospitals are not being overrun (dissimilar to what happened in the late summer), which is a silver lining, and Omicron is a lot less deadly than the Delta strain.
New drugs for Covid are also on the horizon, which is imperative for the management of this virus; the limitations of the vaccines are becoming evident as we are needing boosters to maintain antibody levels and immunity.
Another silver lining is that the CDC announced revised quarantine guidelines (https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html), which should make Covid a lot less disruptive from the standpoint of education, workplace management, and travel.
But despite the more mild, cold like nature of Omicron, and the shortened quarantine periods, certain schools and universities are returning to virtual learning.
The toll that Covid is taking on our youth, their mental health, and their education will reveal itself as time goes on, but I fear that the fallout will prove worse than the virus itself.
My New Years Resolution is to not live in fear of Covid and potential shut-downs and to live every day to its fullest. I have watched my husband continue to heroically battle ALS, and his fighting spirit is what is keeping him alive.
I opened up Facebook (or is it Meta?) yesterday to learn that one of my college friends is battling ovarian cancer, and another lost her childhood home to the wicked fires in Boulder, Colorado, this weekend.
Life and its challenges continue and we cannot lose sight of this as Covid continues to dominate the media narrative. So I'm going to shift gears, now, and reflect on some of the iconic celebrities we lost in 2021. Amongst them are Hank Aaron, Prince Philip and Betty White.
Betty White always reminded me of my grandmother for 2 reasons. I felt that they resembled one another in appearance, and my grandmother loved watching the "Golden Girls." In a world that seems inundated with sad or negative stories, I thought I'd share a bit of Betty's wisdom and humor.
In her book titled: If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't), she said: "Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints.”
And here's another great quote from Betty: “It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” —Chicago Tribune, 2011 I think we need to live by these words now more than ever!
So as I try to take 2022 by storm, I want to announce an event that we are sponsoring in the office on the 20th of January.
It is a combined Coolsculpt and Botox special: 8 or more Coolsculpt cycles are 50%, 6 cycles are 35% off, 4 cycles are 25% off. Additionally, the special include 20 units of Botox for free with the Coolsculpt treatment.
The cycles must be purchased that day, and used within 3 months. T
he Botox can be performed on the day of the Coolsculpt treatment or at a subsequent appointment.
The special requires a $250 deposit on the 20th, and it cannot be combined with other specials.
I hope everyone has a great first week of January and here's a great song to sing while driving to work!
'Til next time.
Dr. Heidi Williams