The Invisible Front Lines deeply sorry we were for the unimaginable pain this virus unfairly inflicted upon them. As we move further away from those difficult weeks during the peak of the pandemic, the memory of it still remains etched in our hearts. Many articles and editorials have examined how, because so many of the deaths occurred out-of-sight, our nation has failed to observe the collective grief and national mourning associated with mass casualty events. For many, the lives lost have become just numbers, void of meaning, and the enormity of the pandemic death toll has not resonated. This is exacerbated by the fact that we cannot gather together to mourn our losses, so we are not seeing displays of shared grief or the outpouring of support. While the reality may not have set in for many, those of us who have actually talked to these grieving families “While our staff are accustomed to helping families who have lost a loved one on a regular basis, the magnitude of tragedy created by COVID-19 has been truly unfathomable .” feel a weight of responsibility to remind others what has been lost. For us here at ASD, we will always remember. It is my belief that it is essential for us all to acknowledge and grieve these losses. I know there are a lot of debates going on in our country centered around this pandemic. However, I do not believe remembering those we have lost to COVID-19 in any way requires one to take a side in the culture wars that are happening right now. We can grieve the human toll of this virus and lament the economic consequences of the pandemic as well. Acknowledging one does not subtract from the other. This notion that you must choose is utterly absurd to me. Denying the loss of life caused by COVID-19 or minimizing the tragedy is disrespectful and hurtful to those families who have already endured so much. 22 www.ogr.org | Summer 2020 When I think about how difficult this experience has been for all of us at ASD and how I still find myself crying when thinking about those families, I often consider what it must be like for those funeral directors who lived through it as well. We must take a moment to consider the longtime psychological impact this will have on those in our profession. It seems certain to me that a good percentage of funeral professionals who were on the front lines of this pandemic will suffer from PTSD after the horrors they have witnessed. The experience of having to go into a crowded trailer filled with bodies to locate a deceased person, of having to carry out your job duties while fearing for your own safety, of having to refuse families you want to help…how do you reconcile such memories? I feel it is imperative in the days ahead for our professional community to support these last responders in any way we can. What they have endured is truly unimaginable and yet they never stopped working despite being traumatized day after day. I would also argue that the past few months have been incredibly distressing for even those funeral professionals who were not located in hot spots. When your life’s calling is to provide comfort to those who are hurting and your work is centered around providing meaningful funeral experiences for grieving families, not being able to fulfill soul crushing. You can feel this when you read the quotes from funeral directors all across the country in articles and news reports. The COVID-19 restrictions forced just about every funeral director in America to abandon their personal philosophies and ignore their natural instincts. Not being able to embrace or shake hands with families… having to police gatherings to ensure social distancing is being observed…limiting the number of people who can attend services, all of these actions would have been unthinkable to funeral directors only a few months ago. Having to adapt to these unique circumstances on both a personal and professional level has undoubtedly caused funeral directors a great deal of stress and anguish. Despite this, so many have responded in unbelievably creative and inspiring ways. From holding drivethrough visitations to adopting new technology in order those duties is absolutely
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