Oral History Interview with Laura Spindler (Lempke) (Indianapolis, IN)
Interviewers: Nancy Yerian (Indianapolis, IN) and Leeah Mahon (Indianapolis, IN)
April 13, 2020


Leeah Mahon:  So Today is Monday, April 13th, 2020. My name is Leeah Mahon, Master's student in Public History at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Also present is Nancy Yerian, Master's student in Public History and Library Science at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. 

Nancy Yerian: This is Nancy. 

LM: Today we have the privilege of interviewing Laura Lempke. This interview is taking place via Zoom. This interview is a part of the Covid-19 Oral History Project, which is a rapid response oral history focused on archiving the lived experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is based at IUPUI and is a result of the collective efforts of graduate students in the IUPUI Public History and American Studies programs. The Covid-19 Oral History Project is housed at the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute. So before we begin the interview, I just want to ask your permission to do the same things that you already agreed to do in writing with the informed consent just in case any paperwork were to get lost over the years. So I'm asking your permission to do the following: record this interview, prepare a verbatim transcript of the interview, and deposit the interview and the verbatim transcript on GitHub and in the IUPUI Special Collections and Archives. All interviews a part of this project will be open and available to the public under a Creative Commons license. Do I have your permission to do these things? 

Laura Spindler (Lempke): Yes.

LM: Alrighty, letfs begin. Nancy's going to start us off with a few questions. 

LS: Awesome. 
NY: Alright, so we're going to start with really easy background questions. So first for  us, can you just tell us your name and the primary things that you do on a day-to-day basis? So, your job, recreational activities, anything like that? 

LS: Yeah. So my name is Laura Spindler, it was Lempke, I just got married. So itfs Laura Spindler now.

NY: Congratulations!

LS: Yeah, thank you! I currently work Eli Lilly as a biologist in one of the experimental labs at the corporate center downtown. I do a lot of late phase work, so I look at how compounds affect the human body, like immune responses, fever if it develops antibody reaction, all that jazz. So I?we, my husband and I?just bought a house and just bought a puppy?Golden Retriever? and yeah, we're just enjoying setting into our new house and yeah, so.

NY: Wonderful. So where do you live and what does it like to live there? 

LS: Actually, we got a house?It's kinda Benford and 465 around 71st area in the Devonshire neighborhood. We love how close it is to?my husband also works downtown at AT&T?so it's really nice to be able to live close to where we work, but also be able to be close to like malls and restaurants and Broad Ripple, and all that  jazz. So yeah. 

NY: Okay. So now we start getting into more of the topical stuff. So can you remember and tell us about when you first learned about COVID-19, and what your thoughts are, what your thoughts were then, and perhaps how they've changed since then?

LS: Yeah. Funny you should ask. My boss is very into, I guess, world news and he had heard about it at the beginning of December. And I hadn't heard about COVID-19?I heard about it a couple of times?but my boss said, gyeah, I really read into ith and we're like, gOK [REDACTED], yeah, it's not going to be that big a deal and it's just a cold and it's not gonna affect any people.h He said goh it's going to come to the US and it's going to be a huge deal.h And my coworker and I are kind of pushing him off?big idea guy. And we're like, gyeah, okay [REDCATED], yeah.h Well turns out I'm?you know, wefre quite scared now and I have a lot of?my mother-in-law actually has one lung so that kinda changes the perspective. And she is healthy now, but we're very, very cautious now compared to how we were in December where I thought it was a silly cold, and now it's completely turned into, you know, we're really following the stay at home orders, getting Kroger pick up, not going into the grocery store, we are very careful about staying in. If you were to ask me that this would turn into this in a couple of months I wouldn't have believed you. 

NY: So what are some of the issues that have concerned you most about all of this in the COVID-19 pandemic?

LS: I think it is one, the accessibility to not get tested. I think that a lot of us have it and had been exposed to it, but just don't know it. And I think that that's kind of going to be, you know, getting a vaccine, being able to get a treatment, just to be able to?being able to test a lot of people. And that's where work kind of comes in and how I've been so honored to work with Lily because they've been able to provide to me these tests, which has been awesome. But it's?it's been a crazy ride, that's for sure. 

LM: So, talking more about your job, then, we're going to move on to employment. You said youfre a biologist at Eli Lilly in downtown Indianapolis. So how?or has?COVID-19 affected your job and in what ways? 

LS: So it's affected my job quite a lot. I am very much in the lab in my regular day-to-day job, I am in the lab at least five to six hours a day. And with Lily putting a work from home order, I had to finish my lab work about a week after that. So I went in in the morning to finish my lab work, then come home. And then they put in the very, very strict work from home rules where I couldn't work in a lab at all. So all lab work was halted. And I've been working from home. It's been really tough because I am in the lab a lot. So I've been reading a lot of paper?scientific papers?and trying to keep up with when we go back.  My boss has been really great about keeping things busy and data analysis and everything, but still it's been quite a change. 

LM: Definitely. Has COVID-19 changed the status of your employment aside from the working at home?
 
LS: I've been very, very lucky. 

LM: So youfre still a biologist.
 
LS: Yes. I've been very lucky and have been able to keep my?everything is just the same, which, working from home, so. 

LM: So what concerns do you have about the effects of COVID-19 on your employment and the economy, broadly, if any?
 
LS: I think, I mean, all of us are worried just in the sense that it will?we are in the lab doing experimental things. We're not finding new things. I mean, yes, we can read it up, but there's one thing to read about it and then another thing to do it. So it's I think it's in the back?a lot of
my friends that are in the lab, as well as?itfs just in the back of our mind that it might not be instant, but a few years from now that it could add a lot?it will have a lasting effect. It's not if, but when. You know, it's tough to think about. But this is nothing like we have ever seen before. So I think about it, but I'm currently?I'm very lucky to have been in the position I'm in now. 

LM: So like you said, you are thankful that your job?you're working at home, so you still have your?youfre still employed. Has the pandemic affected the employment of people that you know and in what ways?

LS: Actually, no, and it's been very, very nice. A lot of my friends and our friend group have?not at Lily, just around, like, both my husband and I went to Butler?so a lot of our friends are around Indianapolis and a lot of us have been lucky. My husband actually, too, his job could easily work from home in general. So he?nothing has changed for him either, which is lovely. It's really nice to have that same income, but I know a lot of families are not in that situation. And yeah, like I said, even my friends have been really lucky too. I've heard about it and definitely am aware of a lot of people that aren't as lucky. But in my, I guess my small little world hasn't affected that much, but thinking about all those other people that aren't so lucky. 

LM: Yeah, definitely. Well, I'm going to bounce back to Nancy now and shefs going to talk to you about your family. 

NY: Yeah, so thinking about other people in your world and you're saying following the strict stay-at-home order?so how has COVID-19 affected you and or your family's day-to-day activities? 

LS: I am a very, very extroverted person, very. Itfs?it's really hit me hard. I understand. The only thing that's keeping me at home is knowing the effects that this is gonna have. I know I need to stay home. And I know that?being a biologist too, like knowing viruses and knowing what this can do, everybody needs to stay home. But like I said, being an extrovert, we?my husband and I?three times a week, we would go out with friends. We'd go see our families all the time. My grandparents are about 40 minutes from here. My mom lives about half an hour from here. We're really close with all of them. And that's probably been the biggest impact is not being able to see people because we're very, very social. So it's been tough. 

NY: So through all of that, how are you sort of managing day-to-day activities since most of them have moved inside your household? 

LS: Right. The puppy has really kept us sane. Wefve really been taking him on a lot of walks. I know getting outside is really, really important. Getting a lot of exercise. Exercise does wonders for me. I'm kind of anxious anyway and that helps a lot. But cleaning, just doing something, you can't be sitting all the time and you're not sitting at work all the time either, thatfs the thing. Like, you know, you're not expecting to be sitting?I'm not sitting at my desk all day anyway. I'm in the lab a lot, so I'm used to being up and around, so I think that's been helping, you know, force myself to get up and do things and either sweeping or even just going out for a quick walk and getting the mail. 

NY: Yeah. And you mentioned you are very extroverted and went out a lot. So how has the COVID-19 outbreak affected how you associate and communicate with friends and family and in what ways? 

LS: For sure. One of the biggest things is that we have a Zoom game night on Friday nights instead of Mondays. We usually got together on Mondays for game night with a group of like nine of us and those same nine people have the Zoom meeting and we play Jackbox and play a lot of games on there. And I?I have a nephew and sister and brother-in-law out in New York state, New York, there about an hour outside of New York City?and FaceTime them a lot. FaceTime my mom. Yeah. So, do a lot of FaceTiming. 

NY: Yeah. So what have?what have been some of the biggest challenges? You mentioned, again, all of these changes. What are some of the biggest challenges that you faced during the COVID-19 outbreak? 

LS: I think one of the biggest ones is the waves of, I guess it's kind of up and down of, it's not that big a deal to it's you know, we're all going to get it and it's bad. Then we're up again and then you watch the news and you're down again and then you, you know, it's been kind of a roller coaster, I know for a lot of people too. It's just a lot process. And I love my husband to death, but also getting out on your own and not being so?being closed in with him has been trying. But I love spending time with him. Ifm glad I have someone to time with. But it's just kinda been the?and he's not?when I'm high, hefs low, and, you know, wefre opposite. So that's been kind of tough, too, but it's?it's been a learning experience and being able to kind of flatten it. You know, everything's gonna be fine in the end and wefve just gotta get through this rough patch. 
 
LM: Definitely.

NY: Yeah, definitely. Thatfs I think it's something a lot of people are going through. 

LS: For sure. 

NY: So you talked a little bit about Jackbox and exercise and things like that. So what else have you and your family and your friends been doing for recreation during COVID-19?
 
LS: Well, Netflix is a lot of?a lot of it. AndcIfm trying to think because we've been so isolated. My sister actually FaceTimes me and?my sister does little activities with my nephew that I always try to go in and watch them do it as he does it. Like we colored?they colored eggs for Easter. And that's been tough, I think, too. Easter was one of my?is one of my holidays. And that's been tough kind of, you know, not being able to see everybody. But yeah, it's been?itfs been tough. A lot of outside time in my yard. I'd love to go get flowers. I've heard that one of the grocery stores is doing flower pickup, which is blows my mind that we have to, you know, it's still like I can't even walk into Lowe's or walk into Home Depot and like get flowers. It's just crazy to me like, oh, yeah, no problem. I'm a big shopper, so I love to go and get stuff and I'm like, gOh, Ifll go get it! Oh, no, I can't.h And that's been kind of interesting too. And it's, yeah, I'd love to get flowers and plant some flowers and get some and Spring feeling. So I might do that. But it's been it's been difficult to find activities, but wefre trying. And reading, too, reading a lot. Yeah, so. 

LM: Yeah, those are definitely good activities to try to keep your mind busy though. It's good that?it's nice that you have a backyard. 

LS: Oh, for sure. Yes, yes. 

LM: Just to sit, even, you know? 

LS: Yes. For sure. 

LM: So more about the community that you live in or whatever you would define as your community. So this could be where you live or a club, a church, whatever. You're welcome to interpret it whatever way you wish. So how has COVID-19 affected your community? How ever you want to think of it. 

LS: Funny, you say church. Wefre big in the?I'm Presbyterian, my husband's Catholic?and every week my church has been doing an online service and it's been really awesome. I really like it that we've been able to get together and also the Game Night community, like being able to Zoom with them and see them every week. That's been really, really helpful. Just keeping in contact has been the biggest thing, like being able to call them. I call my grandma, probably?I call my mom at least twice a day. She probably hates it. But it's nice to be able to just pick up the phone and call her, more so than when I was busy at work. And calling my grandma, calling my sister. And it's just keeping in contact is the biggest thing. And that's been the big change, is not being able to just go and be with them. So you have to find better ways to be with them. And in every sense of community I have, that's been the problem, is being able to still feel like you're with them.

LM: Yeah, definitely. So how are the other people around you?so you've mentioned your family a lot, so this could be family, friends, or just people that you know?how have they been responding to COVID-19? 

LS: I think that my mom is a?my dad passed away two years ago from multiple myeloma cancer. So she was back?we lived in Pennsylvania and then she moved back to Indiana to be closer to family and to us, which has been great. But I really worried about her because I rely on my husband Matt so much during these past few weeks. And I think a lot about my mom, about how she's been acting and trying to call her a lot and trying to, you know. She has a dog and a couple cats, which have kept her busy. But it's?I've just kind of been more aware of, you know, she's alone and she's a lot like I am. Like probably not as extroverted, but just likes to get out and likes to go do things and, you know. And she did work?actually, she did work at a vet clinic where we kind of grew up and they furloughed her till the time being. I kind of forget about that because she was part time and she wasn't relying on the income. But it was definitely something nice for her to go do and be social and she liked that a lot, but she'll definitely be back. Hopefully. They say she will be. So, she's kind of worried about it, but I think she'll be fine. And just yeah. Being able to talk to her. So, yeah.

LM: Definitely. Have you seen the people around you change their opinions or their day-to-day activities in response to the pandemic? 

LS: Yes. One of my friends in the Game Night was a very nonchalant about the whole thing. Just very, gYea, Ifm gonna stay home.h You know, gI get it. Itfs a big deal, blah, blah.h Well, her husband works at a building where two of them tested positive that weren't in the same?on the same floor, but in the same building. She panicked. I mean, absolutely panicked. And I?I said, you know, Casey, like this is?this is what everybody's been like dealing with, like this is it. I work at Lilly, that was one of the first cases in Indiana. It was the first case in Indiana, I think. And my boss went home with a fever. Like it's?it's just everywhere. And it was?it was interesting to see her kind of process it, you know, differently for why I was processing it. But she's come around, she's back. So it was just, you know, interesting to see how she took it. 

LM: Definitely different when it hits close to home, even when itfs a different floor, same building. I mean, you hear about somebody across the city has it and then it's a lot different when theyfre a few feet away from you or floors away from you. 

LS: Exactly, exactly. 

LM: So two key ideas that have emerged out?or during the pandemic are self-isolation and flattening the curve. We hear these all the time on the news. So how have you, your family, friends, or community responded to requests to self-isolate and flatten the curve?
 
LS: Staying in. Just?it's just so easy to spread the virus. My grandparents, we've had a hard time with them. They winter down in Texas and they were in Texas when all this started. And they just completely had no financial obligations come back, could easily stay down there, but they just, they drove back. And stayed in a hotel, went to gas stations. It was really hard on me because they?they're not?I think they're just ignorant about the situation. They don't?they're taking it seriously. They know it's a big deal, but they don't think it'll happen to them. And my grandpa would be hit hard with it. Like it would it would affect him. And it's just me being a biologist, knowing the viral components, you know, knowing how it'll spread it, it really, you know, hit. But theyfre home now in Indiana and they're safe. But kind of understanding how they interpreted and how, you know, even like us, even our age, how we interpret it. I think that's kind of been a real eye opener for everybody that the older generation thinks that, goh, it's, you know, it's not that big a deal.h But we're sitting here saying that, you know, that we're inside, we're not leaving. Like I donft even go?I donft even get carry out. I have it delivered here and like wipe down all the boxes before I eat. Like I'm probably taking it to an extreme, but I just?I wouldn't?I wouldn't like it. So yeah, been tough seeing how they interpret it and react to it. I donft know if that answered the question, but just trying to teach them how to flatten the curve and self-isolate. Because we're trying, really, all of us are trying really hard to be able to do that to keep them healthy. Like it's, you know?we're trying really hard to keep you guys healthy and then they don't, you know, self-isolate. So they're doing a lot better. But I think that that's so, so important. Just, just don't go out right now. Like there will be a time when you are able to go out. It will be, well, it'll be a couple of years before we have concerts. But I think, I truly think our live?our lives, personal lives?will be a little back to normal and a few months. But it's just hard for people to see that. I get it. Like Ifve been a little stir crazy, but you just gotta be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

LM: Yeah, I definitely don't think you're alone in practicing these things, but also having people in your life that you're trying to convince that they should take it as serious as you're taking it. Definitely not alone in that aspect. 

LS: Right. I actually?one of my arguments is that?this is so silly, but Lily is doing a lot of Covid testing and our lab?I havenft gone back in a while, but a couple weeks ago, I assembled a lot of the kits. And they're still doing it and it's an awesome, awesome opportunity. But part of my job was to put everything in the bag to seal up to go to the testing center. Well the swab is huge and it has to go back into your nose, and you have to scrape in the back, and it's extremely, extremely painful. So Ifve been telling everybody: You did not want that test. Like there's no reason for you to get it. They have to put two Kleenexes in the bags that when they pull it out, like you?your eyes, eyes water, and your nose runs because it's so painful. You don't want that, you know. I guess that's been my excuse. It looks painful. 

LM: You have not had the test, then?

LS: I have not. Ifve just seen it.

LM: So I think you kind of answered this, but I'll ask you anyway, if you feel there's anything else you could add. Has COVID-19 changed your relationships with your family, friends, and community? 

LS: I don't think so. I think I had a very close-knit community to begin with. So I think that we're really good about meeting and, you know, communicating. But that little incident with my grandparents, you know, its?they have come around and they've learned. Like we had to sit him down and talk about it. But then therefs still tendencies. Like, gyeah Ifm gonna go to the store.h Like no, you can't go to the store. You know, like get it picked up. It's very easy. But that's?they've come a long way in a few weeks. So I think they just, you know, understand the gravity of it. But yeah, my husband and I, wefre fine. I mean, we do get tired of each other, I guess. We have a big enough house where you can get away. And like I can go for a walk, take the dog for a walk. Itfs just being able to have that balance of finding when you're getting annoyed with each other. But it's difficult to find, but once you find it, itfs easier to manage. So yeah.

LM: I think unprecedented in a lot of ways is this pandemic. So on a health scale, but also on a personal relationship and different aspects of your life. 

LS: Exactly. 

LM: So I'm going to let Nancy talked to you about health now. 

LS: Okay. 

NY: Yeah. So have you or anybody that you know gotten sick during the outbreak and what's been your experience, their experience sort of responding to that? I know you mentioned your boss going home with a fever. So gotten sick doesn't necessarily have to mean like test positive for it. 

LS: Right. That was kind of the first scary moment. Was the first week of March, I believe. My boss went to Chicago for the Biogen Conference and he came back, it was that next week where they said?Lily sent out an e-mail saying if, you know, all lab work still resumes, but if you can work from home, please work from home. That's when I started working labs in the morning and then going home in the afternoon. Well, that Monday I came in and [REDACTED] wasn't there and I'm like, oh, okay. Well, come to find out the person that tested positive in Indiana was at the Biogen Conference and [REDACTED] was exposed, potentially. Like they don't know if they ever like we're in the same room or anything, but he was at the same conference. And we kind of were like, okay, that's kind of a long shot that he might get a but, you know, we'll keep doing our work, keep coming in. No big deal. Well, a few days later, my coworker said, ghey, did you hear [REDACTED]'s daughter has a fever?h And I'm like, gno, what do we do?h Turns out, he really, truly thinks they?they didn't ever get tested, but they each really think it was the flu. Like they?it was definite symptoms of flu. But still a little scary, you know, to think that, possibly, we were definitely exposed. Because I was?he shares a cubicle next to mine. Like it's?we were very, very close and personal and that's when it hit home to me. My?my husband actually had?a man he had met a lot of times, worked with, passed away from COVID-19. And that was about a week ago, two weeks ago maybe. So?and by no means were they super close, but they definitely were acquaintances and knew each other. So that was kind of an aha moment for him, too. But luckily, I haven't known a lot of people that have physically tested positive for it. And I think that's why a lot of like, my grandparents, for example, don't really know the gravity of it because they don't know someone's so personal. t's sad that that has to happen for them to, you know, realize. But, you know, it's, yeah. It's around and yeah, a lot of people are dying. But like do you know someone? And it's sad to think of it like that, like it's sad to think that you need to know someone to make it real, in a sense. But I think that definitely having someone close to home like your boss have, have a fever is kinda scary, but it, it just proves that, you know, that wefll all get through this. And, you know, light at the end of the tunnel like I keep saying. 

NY: Yeah. Gotta keep some hope during all of this. And that really connects well to: in what ways do you think that COVID-19 is affecting people's mental health or physical health?

LS: For sure, yes. I've been loving all the weight gain memes. I think that's awesome. But the gCOVID 19,h as in 19 pounds gained over the quarantine, has been great. But I for sure?because I'm not?I'm sedentary. I'm not moving as much. Like some days I'd get on the couch very early in the morning and do all my emails on the couch and then take a walk and then come back and sit at my desk. So it's, you know, definitely interesting, but I think the mental illness?I suffered, I have bad anxiety. I've had a couple panic attacks before, especially on my dad passed away, which makes sense. A lot of stress.

NY: Absolutely. 

LS:  But, the stress, you know, I think?I definitely talk to a therapist. It has been a huge, awesome resource for me. I think it's so important. And there's such?this is a whole different subject?but there's such a stigma behind going to a therapist. It has just completely changed my like, outlook, on how I do things and how I get through these things. And I haven't seen her in a few weeks and I feel great. Like I feel if you'd have asked me that a year ago, I had to see her every week and had to go every week. But I think that if someone were?who struggles with anxiety and depression and it would be so, so difficult because it's just crippling around you. Like it's just, that's all you hear about whenever you turn the TV on, or even on Facebook, or even on Instagram, itfs just there. And there's no way to get out, you can't go for a walk and it be gone when you come back. You know, like it's not?you can't get away from it. So I think that that has to be hard on a lot of people. And itfs hard on me. Like Ifm tired of reading about it. Like it sucks, it just sucks. But we need to know and need to be informed. But still it's just this whole, this whole thing sucks. 

NY: Absolutely. But so the therapy and treatment youfve gotten over the past few years, you feel like have really helped you get through?
 
 LS: Absolutely.
NY: these few months? 

LS: Absolutely. 100%. 

LM: Do you think that?because I mean, people have talked?I think a new thing even before the outbreak was being able to see a therapist virtually or different services like that. Do you think that wefre at the point where, for somebody that had never seen a therapist before, would be able to do that during COVID-19?

LS: That's tough because it's a lot?there's a lot there when you see them in person and getting your relationship with him or her. And yeah, that's tough. I'm very lucky to be established with one know and I easily could virtually Zoom, like wefre going to in May. That's a really good point. I don't know. Like it's?it would be tough, but it was just so worth it for me. But I also met her in person, you know, itfs a fine line. Itfs so helpful though. I really got a lot out of it. 

LM: So you talked about the news and information and that, which is kind of our next topic. 
What have been your primary sources of news during the pandemic? 

LS: So a lot of mornings?actually every work morning I turn on Good Morning America. Try to?my husband always has the stock channel. Is it the CSNBC or something? The stock channel. I can't watch that because I can just see it plummet and dips and I don't like to watch it. I don't know much about it anyway, but that's his deal. Mostly Good Morning America, but like my age?everyone my age?I'm on Facebook, I'm on Instagram. I'm a lot?I try to limit how much I do a day. The iPhone has a cool app where you see how much screen time you use. And I'm trying to keep it to like a limit. But?and I take a lot of Facebook things with a grain of salt, you have to. And so I think my grandparents, they read Facebook and think everything is true. Thatfs for sure a generational gap thing, but?and I look on MSN a lot. That's kind of my web go-to just to look at things. But I'd say Good Morning America as my major, probably news source in the morning. 

LM: So have your news sources changed at all during the pandemic? Or you're pretty much looking at news the same way you did, like you watch the news in the morning? And thatfs kind ofc

LS: I didnft! This is all new. I kind of like it. I kinda like the refresh. You know, what's the gist. I never watched Good Morning America. I always did in high school before I went to school, but never since I started my job. And I enjoy it. I like it in the mornings where I can relax.

LM: Right. Sorry for a second I wanted to make sure you could hear me.

LS: No thatfs okay, yeah, sorry. 

LM: So what do you think are important issues that the media may or may not be covering as far as the pandemic goes?

LS: I think the thing?and I understand why theyfre not?but just emphasizing that you can recover. It's very important to know that like 90% of the people that have passed away had a preexisting condition. Let alone we all?a lot of us have preexisting conditions, like I mean, you know. But at the same time, like, a lot of people are recovering. And yes, you will be sick, but it's just again: light at the end of the tunnel. Being able to see that, gOh, I could havech?Some of my friends think that if they get it, they're going to die. And that's just not?that's just not the?they're just showing the extreme, extreme because that's good news to cover.  And you know, it's dramatic. Itfs important to know that you can recover if you're, you know, in general, have a good immune system. Were young, you know. All of our friends we talk to. And yeah, I think that's one thing that I kind of would like to hear more. You know, you hear all these?and I keep telling everyone that we?probably a lot of us are probably already immune because we are young. And that's what we have on our side is being able to get out and be active. Active helps a lot. Getting out and going for walks. That's a huge deal for viruses. They don't, you know, if you're sedentary, they have all the more reason to cook inside your body. And being able to get and move around and doing things and, you know, being able to stay healthy. So that's on our time. 

LM: Definitely. Nancy?

NY: So?oh, sorry Leeah. So going from sort of news and information, we have a couple questions about government responses. So how do you feel municipal leaders and government officials in your community, again, community meaning whatever feels right to you, have responded to the outbreak?

LS:  I think that?so, I was talking to Matt about this the other day. Governor Holcomb has done a really nice job of keeping us updated, like he was having day-to-day?I think he still might be?having day-to-day updates on what, what's next. I think he's done a fantastic job. All politics aside, just as a human being, I think he's been really keeping us updated and trying to have us understand what's going on. I'm trying to think. That's who I think of when I think of a leader. In my community that?for sure I think that he's really been trying to help with the situation. He knows what's going on. He knows itfs a big deal. Like, he's keeping us all informed. 

NY: So that's?it's interesting, sort of the, the state-level person is the person that you're?comes to mind first and that you're most identifying with thinking about the community. Do you have any thoughts on how local versus state versus federal?federal leaders are responding differently to the crisis? 
 
LS: Hmm. I donft?tough question because I haven't heard Mayor Hogsett?maybe I just I'm not hugely in the news. So like I, I can't say a lot about all this, but I just know about Holcomb because I have the WTHR app and it alerts me when he talks, and I really like that. But also when Trump?like federal level does, President Trump. I think that Trump is?there's good and bad of both. Like he's letting the states take care of it, which I think is good because I think Holcomb knows more about Indiana and the Governor's know better about each state. I get that. But him saying that we'll be back?we were going to be back by Easter, but yet here we are. And now we're going to be back by the first of May and I truly don't think that that's going to be right, but I do think that we'll be back around June or July. There might be another surge later, but that's just my personal opinion. But I think that like?I think I just keep thinking that Holcomb has done a great job. And I guess I haven't heard Hogsett, the Mayor, talk much about it. I don't think that's his job to, you know, I think that's Holcombfs comes job to be able to do that and he's done a great job. Sorry, I donft know if that answered your question or not.

NY: No, itfs a great answer. Because it sortof tells us what youfre able to hear, right? 
 
LS:  Yeah, yeah.

LM: Whatever your personal experience is. 

NY: Right. Yeah. There's no right or wrong answers here.

LM: So we're kind of getting towards the end of the interview now. So I'm going to talk to you a little bit about the future, which I think is giving us all hope right now. Just thinking about the future, the summertime, you know. So has your experience transformed how you think about your family and friends and community? And in what ways? 

LS: Oh, yes, for sure. Like I'll be down at my mom's a lot. Not that I wouldn't be before, but you just keep seeing all this stuff on an Instagram and Facebook about how you take them for granted. It's so cliche, but it's so true. Like forced to be inside, not going to see them. And like I said, I'm a huge extrovert anyway and love to be with family, love to be with friends. Like I cannot wait to be able to see them so much that I'm tired of them. You know what I mean? Like Ifm at that point where I'm just like I want to have an interaction and to be with them constantly and also just hey, you know, being sappy. But like my dad passing away, like that was a huge realization. And this has also been a huge realization that, you know, being with people, being able to spend time with them, and face-to-face, Ifve been missing a lot and I'm excited to get back to that. 

LM: Yeah, absolutely. And knowing what you know now, what we as a world know now, what do you think the individuals, communities, or governments need to keep in mind for the future?
LS: I think this is really important. That when my coworkers and I were talking about this the other day, is that the virus will never go away. It will always be here. It will keep?people I see a lot say, like, gWe have to kill the virus!h Well, the virus will never die, the virus will never get killed. That's, you know, how viruses are. People will always get it just like the flu, but it will always be there. And I think that a lot of people don't realize that. That goh this'll poof, it'll all be gone.h No, like our lives will be back to normal a little bit, but we'll always have the subject of COVID-19 and coronavirus. Itfs just how viruses are. Like it's something we canft control. We can try to flatten the curve, but I think that that's what a lot people need to realize, that it's not just gonna poof, go away. Like I, I feel like a lot of federal leaders have led us to believe that?and even state leaders sometimes?led us to believe that that's going to happen. And that's not basic biology. Like basic biology is you can't eradicate virus, like you can't completely take it out. So yeah, I think that's important to keep in mind as we move forward and get?get used to this new?I don't think the new normal is going to be totally different from what our old normal was. I really don't. I think wefll for sure be back to normal in a year. I know that's a lot to say, but like a long time. But I think that we'll be able to get to grocery stores and stores pretty soon. But I think that the new normal is that covid will always be here, COVID-19 will be here.

LM: Do you think that this will change and all the way that we live our daily lives knowing that a virus can kind of come out seemingly nowhere and effect our lives the way it has?

LS: I hope that people are more aware. I hope that this makes them more aware of?like in the lab, I have to bleach everything. I have to wipe down everything with ethanol. I have to wear gloves. I'm not dealing with viruses every day. Like, you know, I deal with blood a lot and do a lot of cell isolations from human blood, which could be infected with all kinds of viruses like Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and everything. So and then I have to bleach everything, wear gloves, wear everything. So it's just making people more aware. If anything good comes out of this, just making people more aware of what's around them and washing your hands. Like just?it's going to be there and, you know, we may get sick, but if we're healthy, you know, we'll be able to conquer it. 

LM: Right. So, is there anything that we haven't asked you about your experience with COVID-19 that you would want to mention? 

LS: I don't think so. I think it's just been really, really beneficial to make those test kits. I really have felt the impact. Like I'm making an impact even if it is stuffing a bag full of swabs and Kleenex. You know, it's?I feel like I'm on that front line and by no means like a nurse or a doctor. Like they are the ultimate?like every first responder, all that? they're the main, the main hope in all this.

[Dog barking]

LM:  Oh, so sorry. 

LS: It's fine, it's fine. But, you know, being able to contribute has really, really affected me in a good way. 

NY: Yeah, yeah, good. 

LM: Sorry, I didnft want her to keep barking!  

LS: No, itfs fine! Youfre good, youfre good. 

LM: I knew shefd sneak her way into the interview somehow. Nancy, do you have any more questions for Laura before we wrap up?

NY: I don't think so. Thank you for sharing your time with us and sharing your experiences. 

LS: Thanks for having me!

LM: Thank you. 



1