It takes a village

Clockwise from top left: Bodil Fox sewing medical masks, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo nurses, Doctor at Alta Bates Berkeley, Nurses at Piner’s Nursing Home, Napa, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo nurses, Nurses at Alta Bates Berkeley

By Larnie Fox

Benicians Bodil and Larnie Fox had assumed that they would be spending their shelter-in-place time working in their studios. Both of them are artists and also veterans of nonprofit organizations. Their plans quickly changed on a morning walk on March 20 when they ran into their neighbor, Marcella Spurgeon, a labor and delivery nurse at Kaiser Vallejo. A simple “how’s it going?” from Bodil elicited an emotional story about the lack of Personal Protective Equipment, especially medical masks, and the fear and uncertainty that the nurses there were experiencing. Bodil wondered if a hand-sewn mask would help, and Marcella responded with an enthusiastic “YES!” The next day Bodil began sewing masks, and found that her friend Ruby Wallis was also sewing them and had designed one that could be sewn quickly, and worn over an N95 mask to extend its life. Bodil and Larnie made a video showing how to make a “Ruby” style mask, and posted it on YouTube. They sent out a group email asking for help making masks and identifying needs in the healthcare community. A call for help was placed on social media. The response was overwhelming, so Larnie volunteered to help coordinate the many people who wanted to sew or donate fabric and Benicia nurses desperate for any sort of protection, in an effort to free Bodil’s time for mask sewing. That didn’t last long. Within a couple days it was obvious that coordinating the project would be a more than full-time job for