A United Methodist Insight Column
Still think the coronavirus pandemic is a hoax? Consider the story of one United Methodist, Dr. Rebecca Shadowen, a specialist in infectious diseases in Bowling Green, Ky.
Rebecca Shadowen
Dr. Rebecca Shadowen (Photo courtesy Med Health Center, Bowling Green, Ky.)
Weeks before compulsory quarantine and mask-wearing orders, Dr. Shadowen, 62, pleaded with friends, colleagues and patients to wear masks, keep their distance and wash their hands. As a specialist in infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, she knew how deadly coronavirus was from the beginning, her husband, Dr. David Shadowen, also an infectious disease specialist, told NBC News reporter Erik Ortiz.
“From the start, the doctor advocated for social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing, and she hoped her community of Bowling Green could become a model for the rest of her state, where residents sparred over stay-at-home orders and challenged Kentucky's mask mandate in the courts,” Ortiz wrote.
Dr. Rebecca Shadowen was conflicted about the health dangers to her family and friends from her work as a member of a local coronavirus task group, but she felt she had a responsibility to keep working, the Rev. Adam Shourds, senior pastor at Broadway United Methodist Church, told NBC News. Several times she went to pray from a pew in her empty church, her pastor said.
In May, she fell ill, but continued to work with the task group from her hospital bed. Her husband said he believed she was infected by a home health care worker who also infected his elderly mother, their adult daughter, and himself. For the next four months, Dr. Rebecca Shadowen shuttled among hospitals, on and off a ventilator, until she developed complications from the virus. She died Sept. 11.
Her pastor told NBC News: “’She wasn't bitter, she said, and used her last few months to understand everything she could about the coronavirus. She fought the virus harder than anybody because she knew how.’"
At her visitation and memorial at Broadway UMC Sept. 17, many people told Dr. Shadowen’s family that she had saved their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Her husband described her to NBC News as “a person of faith, a mother, a wife, a doctor.” Their daughter Kathryn, 23, said her mother was a “hero.”
Now we’re left to wonder: Could Dr. Shadowen still be alive if someone down the line of her contact network had worn a mask, washed their hands frequently, or kept physical distance from others? We’ll never know, but we do know that the disease that killed her is virulent enough to survive, infect and end her life despite all the health precautions that she advocated.
By all accounts, Dr. Rebecca Shadowen was an extraordinary person, gone too soon from her family and community that loved her. That realization ought to be enough for all of us – especially skeptical people in Kentucky – to step up their own pandemic practice.
In Dr. Shadowen’s own words: “Look, folks, this isn’t politics. This is science.” Read the full NBC News article.
Coronavirus by the numbers
Here’s the status of the coronavirus pandemic as of Sept. 21 from Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center:
Top 10 Confirmed Cases by County
- Los Angeles 259,817 confirmed
- Miami-Dade 166,516 confirmed
- Maricopa (Phoenix) 139,245 confirmed
- Cook (Chicago) 138,576 confirmed
- Harris (Houston) 123,264 confirmed
- Dallas 77,118 confirmed
- Broward (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 75,499 confirmed
- Queens (New York) 70,832 confirmed
- Kings (New York) 65,782 confirmed
- Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 63,877 confirmed
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose sharply in July and continued a steep rise through August. The rate of infection has slowed, but the number of cases continues to rise, according to Johns Hopkins.
If you’re wondering whether to resume in-person worship, I recommend checking out Johns Hopkins' data charts, “America Is Reopening. But Have We Flattened The Curve?” The interactive map gives statistics on the coronavirus status of each state, including increases and decreases in infections. Local public health departments remain the most reliable source of immediate information on coronavirus in your area.
As of 8 a.m. Sept. 21, there were more than 7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and more than 204,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States, according to WorldOMeters.info. The website compiles data from national, state and local public health authorities and is used as a source by governments and universities including Johns Hopkins, currently considered the most reliable statistical resource on the coronavirus pandemic.
Updates on other crises
Folks in places around the country are still trying to recover from summer disasters. Here are a few links of interest:
Weeks after a derecho hit, Eastern Iowa is still struggling – PBS
Western wildfires continue to devastate west coast – CBS News
Health experts fear coronavirus infections could spike – CBS News
Media Mentions as of Sept. 21, 2020
Tulsa churches express solidarity through Black Lives Matter murals – Oklahoman.com
6 ways to protect your church from conspiracy theories – Patheos
Study: Liberal congregations more politically active than conservative ones – Religion News Service
'Not a normal childhood' / California parents struggle as Covid and fires collide – The Guardian
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.