These are my patients, my friends, my family. I know every single one." - Dr. Tom Dean

[UpInArms]

But the numbers kept rising. Some of the nearby ICU’s filled up. The nursing home finally had its first positive test, and that was the phone call I’d been dreading. Those folks kept the virus out for more than six months, and they tried so hard. They immediately sectioned off one area of the building and set up their own covid isolation unit, but it’s a small facility, and it was already too late. The virus snuck in and went wild. Within a few days, most of the residents had tested positive. Two-thirds of the staff was out sick. They had these frail, confused, sick residents, and nobody could really take care of them. They tried to hire some temporary help, but some of the new nurses refused to treat any covid patients. “What? That’s everyone! What did you come here to do?”

I’m 75, and I’m a cancer survivor. I’m not claiming to be any kind of a hero. I’m slowing down and I’m partially retired. I’m clearly in that high-risk group, and I knew I couldn’t go in. I talked to the staff on the phone every day, and I did a fair number of video visits. How am I supposed to care for these people? Some have dementia. Others aren’t speaking. Even if I could be there at the bedside, this virus makes you powerless. It kind of does whatever it’s going to do. I’ve mostly provided moral support, maybe a little company to help with their loneliness. One woman had been my patient for 20 years, and she got it and died practically the next day. Another one of my friends — I guess can’t call him a patient because he never liked going to the doctor — he seemed to be getting better and then a few weeks later he died. There was no good news. It was one bad call after the next. My parents both tested positive — boom, boom.

My mother had been steadily losing ground for a while before covid, not eating, sleeping 22 hours a day. She kind of drifted off. My dad was different. He was clinically stable. He could get confused, but he was comfortable and fairly active. When the virus hit, he went downhill in a hurry. It attacked his lungs. He needed oxygen. His body got stressed. It took four days from his diagnosis to his death.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/09/doctor-coronavirus-election/?arc404=true&fbclid=IwAR2rn4K8bCuIlVCy6xuFN6D9qje_zomSadLQrlH65WqdWZqmxh-4ayUZVfQ

[Indykatie]

1. This is One of the Stories from the Voices of the Pandemic Featured in the Wash Post

All these first person stories are gut wrenching and it's hard to read them without tearing up. I urge everyone to read some of them. These stories helped me accept the need to continue my self imposed isolation. I have 2 chronic conditions that place me in the highest risk category. There are days of sadness and loneliness for me but I see that my situation pales in comparison to how COVID has impacted other families' lives. I have a gained an appreciation for the Facetime feature on IPhones. I never used the feature before I became housebound and see my daughters and 3 grown granddaughters.

[abqtommy]

2. I learned one important thing from reading this:I'm not out of tears yet. Thanks for that.