The virus hits Dexter hard

The week we hoped would never come has now arrived

During the second week of May the situation everyone has been dreading arrived in Dexter. One of our local nursing homes was declared a COVID19 hot spot after 20 residents tested positive for the coronavirus. Some of those residents are members of our congregation. In this public forum I will not go into detail, except to ask for prayers for all the residents, staff, and families of the Crowley Ridge Care Center.

This event has rocked the community and is a reminder of just how dangerous the coronavirus can be. The nursing home involved was one of the first restrict visitors and has been taking infection control measures very seriously. Even if everyone does everything right, the worst case scenario can occur at any time.

Fortunately, this situation has brought out some of the best of Dexter as well. Nursing home and hospital staff, ambulance personnel, the county health department, public officials, and even the Missouri National Guard have all been hard at work helping prevent the outbreak from getting worse. If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that the infection rate in the wider community is still low.

We are also witnessing firsthand how frustrating the isolation required during this time can be for both patients and families. Love ones who have already not seen each other in over two months are now trying to comfort and encourage each other in a life or death situation via inadequate and somewhat unreliable technologies. Even when that physical separation is the right thing to do, it is exhausting, frustrating, and complicates an already scary situation.

Once again, thank you for keeping everyone affected by this outbreak in your prayers.