Trevor and Coralie Smith

Coralie Smith

71
Te-Tai-O-Aorere/Tasman

Our experience during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although I had listened to news items and read about the Covid 19 pandemic in faraway places, when the government announced the different levels and what that would mean, and then how quickly the whole country went into lockdown, it was a shock.

I am Coralie Smith, a 71-year-old woman living with my 77-year-old husband Trevor in Motueka in the Tasman district. We have been fully retired for 10 years after running various small businesses over the last 46 years that we have been together. We have no children but have wide family groups on both sides. We own our own home, have no mortgage, have some savings and receive the superannuation. My health is very good but Trev has diabetes, heart related problems and lost the sight in his left eye late last year. We both still walk every day and both drive and attend various clubs and groups and do volunteer work.

I volunteer with the Motueka Museum and Motueka Historical Assn and knew things were getting serious when the Trust Board was told by the curator that we may have to close the museum because the volunteers were not feeling safe. Most of them of course are over 70. The museum can’t run without the front desk volunteers. The Board was asked to supply sanitiser, masks and cleaning gear. I was at a meeting of the Board at which we did our first social distancing when someone read from their phone that we were going into Level 4 so any decisions were taken from our hands and the museum would be closing anyway. I felt quite tearful as I drove home when it hit me that the whole country would be closing down. The feeling didn’t last long as my husband and I are practical people and so we spent the next couple of days stocking up on medications, groceries and helping some of our older family members to prepare. Having come from large families and having lived in times when we bought groceries in bulk we had plenty of toilet rolls, frozen goods, tinned and baking items, meat and so forth. I never did get any sanitiser, it was just not available locally so we rediscovered good old Sunlight soap bars that I had in the laundry. Our habit became to get home and wash hands in the laundry as it is in the garage where we usually enter the house.

As a genealogist and a historian I decided straight off to keep a diary of our day to day lives. Not only did it give me something to do it has been a good record of life in a pandemic. What you are reading is a summary of that diary which hasn’t had a regular entry for some weeks. I do go back now and again to say something about New Zealand’s position but more about the world picture.

We were very lucky to be living in a neighbourhood with a mix of ages. Several younger neighbours offered to get our groceries but we only had to use them once. We were blessed with wonderful weather too. We went walking early about 7 am to get our exercise. For some reason I felt uncomfortable being out when the message was that over 70’s were to stay home. So going early meant we didn’t see very many people. We enjoyed walking up the middle of roads that are normally busy with vehicle traffic and it was so quiet. Everybody kept the distance of 2 metres and everybody had a smile, a greeting or a few words to say and these were all strangers in the main. As time went on and we relaxed we would walk along together but never close and of course the talk was of Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Jacinda’s latest 1pm announcements. We were regular followers. We are also computer literate having computers and iPads and mobile phones. That was the most we have ever used them. Everybody seemed to want that contact – checking up, telling what they were doing, encouraging and accepting the situation – texting, zooming, Facebooking, ringing, messaging, the whole works. The idea of bears in windows was a lot of fun too and we did that even though we get very few people passing by and we went walking all over town just to see bears.

We could tell our 7-year-old great nephew what we had seen and swap bear photos. Similarly with poppies for Anzac Day. Only 3 groups stood in our street at 6 am but plenty walked to the war memorial later and went looking for poppies on gate posts and fences. We felt proud to be New Zealanders. A keen amateur photographer and historian, I took plenty of photos of signs, empty streets and bears. I run a couple of history Facebook pages too so got out old games and items from my own collection to use as ideas for followers to do. Pastimes of the past.

I think what also helped in this area was that many people were still working in the horticultural industry. It was the peak of the fruit picking season and 12 out of the 32 people in our cul de sac were working. There were 8 retirees, 6 children and the rest were in jobs where the business was shut down for the duration. Most of those had thought to get some paint or timber to renovate the house or build and paint a fence. We all have gardens and so they got a good tidy up. Our vegetable garden was a god send and we were able to swap amongst neighbours, family and friends. We didn’t go mad baking except for bulk lots of pies and marmalade and plum sauce because we had the fruit to hand.

I am an avid reader and so I had stockpiled on books. I did swap with a couple of friends. We would wet wipe down the books, wrap in paper and leave at each other’s doorsteps. All within walking distance and then we usually wet wiped them again and left them a day or two in case there was a contamination. I did download a couple of ebooks as well.

I added an extra exercise to my usual 10,000 steps a day. I decided to walk round the house and section each day for 20 minutes. I did extend it into the cul de sac after a week as it got boring going round and round our place and could talk to neighbours, none of whom felt the need to join me. When we went down to Level 3 and 2 I gave up the extra exercise and gained weight.

Trevor had been able to get his flu injection before lock down only because he had gone for a regular monthly Vitamin B12 injection and the practice had just got the first of the new season’s vaccine. I was booked to go for mine the next week but the appointment was cancelled due to a lack of vaccine. Probably the only thing that annoyed me about the government’s announcements were that they kept saying “go and get a flu injection” but there were no supplies. I had my name down at the chemist and the doctors and when they rang in May I said I can come straight down and was there in 5 minutes. We stood at an outside door while it was administered and we sat outside in the carpark on chairs while we waited for the required 10 minutes, all set out at 2 metres and I caught up with people who I knew but hadn’t seen for some time. We were all highly amused by the situation and enjoyed the outing.

Trevor was due to have some lasering to his eye. He knew he had lost the sight because of retinal bleed and injections were tried but made no difference but the Nelson Hospital eye specialists wanted to laser it to prevent soreness and pain later in life. This was delayed and he had to have a repeat of the injections to bring down swelling. The first trip to Nelson was most enjoyable as traffic still very light and we were impressed with the tight security and careful handling by the hospital staff from the front door to the clinic itself.

As a former territorial and RSA member Trevor gets assistance under Veteran Affairs. These services were halted and we just made do. We had friends who were in the same position under other health care schemes who were worse off being more physically disabled but they made do and did without and were happy to do so. Trevor was rung by Veteran Affairs checking on his welfare. He was also rung by two suppliers of products he was going to try on his feet for a fungal infection and promised a call back but nothing ever came. Not that it worried him. His local heart group did a ring round as well to check on each other. We did miss going to our usual groups but not to the extent that it got us down. We just relaxed and went with what was asked of us. We had power, heat, communication, a roof over our heads and the super arrived each two weeks and we saved on petrol. I did do two grocery shops where I stood in a queue but there was no argee bargee. Even local petty criminals seemed to enjoy a break. We had it pretty easy compared to many. Having someone else in the house was a definite bonus. Friends on their own had to resort to many phone calls or walks to see a face.

Two events occurred during lockdown that were not so wonderful. My cousin’s husband who had been battling cancer died and she was left to grieve on her own. She was allowed to have one son, his wife and a grandson stand with her and the undertakers at the grave side as he was buried. That was hard for her. The other was the death of our sister-in-law, my brother’s wife, who was living at home with heart related problems under palliative care. Her daughter lived with her and along with her wh?nau we were able to see her before she went away for cremation keeping our distance and being very careful. Although not from local iwi her wh?nau were offered a Zoom tangihanga by the local iwi which they took up. We had never used Zoom before but what a wonderful idea it was. It suited our sister-in-law. It gave closure to her wh?nau and it followed M?ori protocols and met all her wishes from the music played to the photo show, the karanga and prayers. There were tears, laughter and stories as we all sat in our bubbles. Although we missed the hugs and being together it was better than standing all alone by a grave side.

Life for us at Level 1 is pretty much back to normal. We can hear rugby being played at the park over one side and kids are back at school on the other. I do feel for them having their lives tipped upside down but have no family that it has affected adversely. The same with jobs. All are in safe occupations. We have one great niece in Melbourne and that is a worry but she is working and resigned to the fact she won’t be home for Christmas. Her grandmother’s ashes sit waiting to be buried once she can come home. Time will tell if the local shops and tourist operators go out of business. Winter is a quiet time for them anyway but it needs a summer boom of visitors to see them through. Places like Kaiteriteri and the Abel Tasman will always attract half of Christchurch anyway but this year will need more people from other places.

Tasman is a safe Labour seat and even safer this year as the government did perform well during lockdown. We think they should have made their tracking app compulsory for all shops then it would get used more. We use it, it is so easy and habit forming.

The future? Talk of masks and they are already in short supply. I can’t see the use of the ones that aren’t washable and don’t have the wherewithal to make any. We would wear them for sure but would probably restrict how often we went anywhere. That seems to be the easiest way. Roll on a vaccine and the dying out of the coronavirus. It has been a real wake up call for us all and we can survive when we put our minds to it. Kia kaha New Zealand