Greta, 30, has been preparing for the pandemic for eleven years without knowing it.

– I’ve never felt like a lion mom. I’ve always felt more like a kitty: weak and small compared to the system, Greta Torrissen begins (30).

He has let the editor of Our Little Country into his home at Tøyen in Oslo for an unusual time. Outside the four walls of the apartment, the crown pandemic breaks out. Inside is really Everything as before.

Eleven years ago, Torrissen became the mother of Ollie (11). At first everything was as it should be, but when the son turned two, it became clear that he had an unspecified form of severe mental retardation.

– He is eleven years old. He is very present and very happy, but he cannot speak and understands very little of what is happening around him, Torrissen explains.

Norway is closed

Ollie is vigilant and needs protection. She has to take care of her son throughout the day.

– People have always told me: “You are so strong. You are so hard”. I’m just saying stay there when forced. But I have never felt strong. Like those called lion mothers,
mothers to children with special needs, explains the 30-year-old.

At the press conference on Thursday, March 12, the authorities announced strict restrictions. People should stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with others and with the outside world. Norway is closed.

Everyday life turns around for most Norwegians. Several feel anxiety and anxiety. Dop paper, canned food, and dry food are ripped off the shelves. Even the most social of the population feel lonely.

Watch the documentary Our little country “When the pandemic hit Norway” on TV 2 Sumo.

Unknowingly prepared

House with Greta and Ollie is real Everything as before. Greta has been preparing for a pandemic for eleven years without knowing it.

Their daily lives require that they always have enough food and medicine at home, because she never knows when the next opportunity to go out will be available.

– This is just my normal life. It is very surreal. We are never visiting anyone except the immediate family. We have never visited anyone other than the immediate family. We do not carry out leisure activities. we
Never go to the hairdresser. We never do any of those things there, Greta explains.

Know strength

Even though everything is as before It is still somewhat different. Before the pandemic, Greta often felt lonely. She doesn’t anymore, now that everyone else is home too. on the other hand
she now experiences what really resides in her.