They sent them to Singapore for fear of "Corona"
Two frontline American doctors have not met their daughters in 3 months
A large number of doctors have been forced to distance themselves from their children and families due to the pandemic. Archives
The two American doctors with their daughters. Archives
Singapore closed its borders after Eileen Yang returned to New York. Archives
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In March, when it became clear that New York City would become a hotspot for the emerging corona virus, two American doctors: Eileen Yang and her husband David Weir panicked about how to care for their two daughters, Ainsley and Adeline. Yang, 39, is an anesthesiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery with a specialty in Critical Care Medicine, and Weir, 49, is a Critical Care Pulmonologist, New York City.
Naturally, Weir and his wife wanted their daughters to stay in Manhattan, where the family has lived for years, but what if one of the two doctors caught the coronavirus, on the front lines of the pandemic? Faced with this problem, some New York City doctors have sent their children to stay with their families in neighboring countries. However, Yang's parents lived in her native Taiwan, and Wire's relatives, in New Jersey and Ohio, had health problems that put them at risk of complications from "Covid-19".
So Yang's older sister, Heather Carmichael, offered to welcome Ainsley and Adeline at her home in Singapore. She and her husband had a roommate, a housekeeper to help, and two young boys who loved to play with the kids. "At the time, Singapore was relatively well controlled," Yang said. Follow-up: "They did not have many cases, and there were no restrictions on travel, and we thought it could be for a few weeks." But then a scenario emerged that they did not expect. After Yang left her two daughters at her sister's home and returned to New York, the Singapore government issued partial closure orders, closed its borders to foreigners and transit travelers, while the number of virus cases more than doubled.
And from late March to early May, the couple focused only on work. Yang worked in the Intensive Care Unit of Weill Cornell Medical Center and Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. She worked weekends, regularly switching from day shift to night shift with little to no rest in between. Weir and Yang used to correspond on the phone and rarely meet, but the wife said she still felt lonely.
Weir put a bed in his office and only goes home to shower. He said he had fallen into monotony. After he wakes up, he talks with his two daughters via "FaceTime", then works for 14 hours, eats food standing, and gets some sleep. This repeats every day.
Carmichael did her best to help, snapping more than 1,000 photos and 100 videos of Ainsley and Adeline. She wanted to make her sister and her sister-in-law feel as if they were living with their two daughters moment by moment. And they were, especially with Adeline, who is a year old, as she was standing in front of the camera one day and uttering her first word "cowardice."
"Adeline was barely walking when she got to Singapore, but now she is running around the house, confidently climbing onto the dining room table, and turning for two seconds," the aunt said.
Videos, photos and FaceTime conversations helped Yang and Wire to withstand the peak of the epidemic.
Every week, the couple send care packages to Singapore filled with toys and clothes that they ordered, via the Internet. The packages were destined for Ainslie, described by her parents as a "precocious girl" whose emotions alternate between anger, fear and sadness. The mother said the baby's ups and downs can make video chats painful.
"Once, we sent her a parcel, and she asked the child, 'When will he get here?'" Yang added, "She replied," The parcel is on a plane, and the postman will deliver it to your home. " Ainsley immediately replied, “This is not my home! This is Aunt Heather's house. ”
Rejected requests
As the weather got warmer, Weir said he noticed people with children everywhere he went, making the void in his life bigger. Hearing children crying in public, makes Yang live "another turn."
Singapore's borders remained closed, and its government was not helping the American couple's problem. After Yang and Wire's application to obtain entry visas was rejected, the Asian country allowed transit travelers, starting in June, but only from New Zealand and Australia. The two doctors protested against the rejection of visa applications, and contacted the US Embassy in Singapore, and several destinations in Singapore, but to no avail so far.
Weir put a bed in his office, only going to the house to shower. He said he had fallen into monotony. After he wakes up, he talks with his two daughters via "FaceTime", then works for 14 hours, eats food standing, and gets some sleep. This repeats every day.
Yang's older sister, Heather Carmichael, offered to welcome Ainsley and Adeline at her home in Singapore. She and her husband had a space, a housekeeper to help, and two young boys who loved to play with the kids.