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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDealing w/ the spouse of a patient who refuses to believe wife has COVID
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We almost had to remove the spouse of a patient from the hospital last night because he refused to believe that his wife, who had signs/symptoms of COVID for 10 days and was found with an oxygen saturation of *9%* after having a probable stroke, had COVID. Violently in denial.
But she had a stroke. This has nothing to do with COVID. Why are you making this about COVID
Refusing to accept that their decision to live at home with her COVID symptoms for 10 days without treatment dropped her SpO2 so low that her brain isnt receiving the necessary O2.
We see this a lot. Unvaccinated folks having signs/symptoms of covid for 1-2 weeks before coming to the ED, then by the time they get to us they need an emergent intubation. Denial is killing so many of these patients - getting to the hospital sooner means decreased mortality.
For reference, an oxygen saturation below 85% causes lack of oxygen perfusion to vital organs and over any extended period of time is incompatible with life. An SpO2 of 9% isnt something any of us had ever seen in a patient that wasnt minutes away from death
COVID denial didnt pop up out of thin air. There are actual people to hold accountable for this. Carlson, Hannity & others have blood on their hands. Immeasurable loss of life.
The patients know it too, but most find out minutes before intubation and never wake to regret it.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Just leave their ignorant mess behind for everyone else to deal with it.
Not an ounce of pity is left in my pity bag.
JoanofArgh
(14,971 posts)ananda
(28,885 posts)just for the innocents they infect.
area51
(11,927 posts)and also the burnt-out medical personnel who must then try to save the anti-vaxxers.
3Hotdogs
(12,437 posts)but is a little giggle ok?
COL Mustard
(5,933 posts)If our fellow Americans are too dumb to get vaccinated, were better off without them.
mgardener
(1,822 posts)Shrunk in the wash like it was made out of wool, washed in hot water & dried on the hottest heat cycle.
Murphyb849
(572 posts)JoanofArgh
(14,971 posts)I went and bought a pulse oximeter , so I could monitor my oxygen levels if I contracted COVID and get to the hospital early, if need be.
Zorro
(15,749 posts)JoanofArgh
(14,971 posts)catrose
(5,075 posts)Sold out of thermometers, hand sanitizer, all the other supplies, but most people hadn't figured out oximeters yet. I take my pOx after every time I go out and for several days afterwards.
PatSeg
(47,643 posts)until I saw the number repeated. That is horrifying.
Maru Kitteh
(28,343 posts)rsdsharp
(9,211 posts)and I was struggling to breathe, even with supplemental oxygen. I cant even imagine 9!
cannabis_flower
(3,768 posts)I had an oxygen level that dropped into the 80s after surgery. I wasnt struggling to breathe though. I just wasnt breathing. They had to keep reminding me to breathe. After the anesthetic wore off I was ok.
rsdsharp
(9,211 posts)Whatthe_Firetruck
(558 posts)...And got a tracheostomy at the VA hospital. I was readmitted for hernia surgery in 2017, and then arrhythmia in 2019. They couldn't keep my spO2 up through recovery, so they put me on supplemental oxygen. I have it at home now but I only use it when I sleep. I just checked, and it was 88-90, which is my resting normal that I'm used to. I have to deep breathe to get it up to the 95-98 range.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Raven123
(4,879 posts)KS Toronado
(17,364 posts)We can thank TFG for starting that, and then FQX nonsense picked up the torch.
Historic NY
(37,454 posts)likes of FOX news.
Rhiannon12866
(206,247 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)Covid causes strokes through blood clots, and apparently she had a stroke. Her outcome is likely not good.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)They will continue to spout misinformation and doubts... they'll continue to WILLINGLY incubate mutations and spread them to other innocent UNWILLING victims. So, it's my belief that the sooner they kill themselves off, the better we'll ALL be.
It's a god damned shame that this SUICIDE CULT is wasting precious and limited hospital rooms, beds, resources, etc... and putting the medical staff at risk.
They are not worthy of the care they receive. The are causing other MORE DESERVING victims to be denied lifesaving care.
I've had it up to my eyeballs with these jerks.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Its a human right.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)our medical care system. Perhaps it is time to tell the anti-vax adults that, if they get COVID, they go to an anti-vax hospital. Staffed by like minded quacks and folks like Ron Paul.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)of stupidity.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)Wash it down with some bleach. That should help.
radical noodle
(8,013 posts)should refuse to cover treatment of those who don't get the vaccine unless they have a medical condition that prevents it, or they should charge anti-vaxxers more for their coverage.
liberalla
(9,266 posts)individuals that have refused vaccination (without a valid medical reason).
The potential cost of medical care will be much greater for unvaccinated people.
not fooled
(5,803 posts)the only thing holding back the ins cos. has been lack of FDA approval so far--once that is granted, which should be a mere formality, expect the sh*t to hit the fan and sick anti-vaxxers to be in a whole lotta trouble getting coverage for treatment of needless COVID infections.
liberalla
(9,266 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,334 posts)on hospitals who will still have to take them in and care for them.
Higher rates is a good idea.
Demobrat
(8,999 posts)I doubt if most of these types do.
Mr.Bill
(24,334 posts)should refuse payment. Most people over 65 have Medicare. In most states low income people have some sort of government supported health care insurance available to them.
DENVERPOPS
(8,851 posts)the hospitals across the country should ask: Have you or anyone you know gone to Sturgis.
Perfect scam for the Governor of South Dakota: Invite 700 Thousand people to a shoulder to shoulder ten day, party in your state, collect a hundred million in Sales Taxes (literally) and then send them all home across the entire U.S. and let their states deal with the outrageous costs of taking care of them.
Last year, the governor of SDak couldn't even begin to take care of the residents of her state who came down with the Covid after Sturgis and begged all the other States around her to take their covid patients......
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)They rake in the bucks, and the states where the infected live get to pay the social costs. They ought to track it. Do you own a Harley? Did you go to Sturgis? A Grand social analysis on how delta Covide spreads. Well done freedumb lovers!
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)You believe in anti-vax? You pay for the privilege.
jmbar2
(4,910 posts)Years ago, I had a relative who was Christian Science. They don't believe in medicine. When they get critically ill, they go to "sanatoriums" where they are fed and bathed, but no other treatment is offered for pain, infections, etc. Only prayers.
The agonizing end of life for these folks is hidden from view to maintain the illusion that prayer alone suffices. The antivaxxers and Covid deniers should have a similar place to go to protect our healthcare system and workers. Give 'em palliative care and move on.
Antivaxxers are like the zombies in The Walking Dead. They are everywhere. And we need to protect ourselves from them until they die off.
I have no more f's to give.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)Farmer-Rick
(10,216 posts)Everyone has a right to healthcare. We are not in the 1920s anymore.
But anti-vaxxers have brought their suffering on themselves.
Early in the pandemic, I had a neighbor die of Covid and her hubby was really sick. They knew it was Covid-19 and said so back then. But now he goes around pretending her death was a simple heart attack. He's an anti-vaxxer now.
I was stunned when I heard him claim Covid-19 was a hoax and the vaccine a plot. Talk about denial. Maybe it's his grief but since he's an overweight man with COPD, I hope he' s just talking.
HariSeldon
(457 posts)...the person's antisocial choices are putting their healthcare needs in contention with the healthcare needs of others who are looking out for the good of their community by vaccinating. Hoping, wishing, praying, and humane intentions do not increase the number of available, staffed beds in the community.
I'll be damned if I say that it's fair to give an anti-vaxxer a bed my too-young-to-vaccinate son needs (if his exposure in a masked setting does lead to infection with serious symptoms). Their decisions are also generally exhausting the "surge" capacity of the medical community -- the extra shifts, canceled vacations, willingness to stay isolated from family, etc. -- and then what if a variant arises that truly threatens the vaccinated?
Farmer-Rick
(10,216 posts)They are selfish, cruel and stupid.
But we have very few repurcussions for this behavior in the US. There already were anti-vaxxers before Covid-19. They went around happily spreading measels with no more than a slap on the wrist. There were full blown cults of them sharing lies on Facebook. This behavior was allowed and is still allowed because someone is making bank on it and because there is less trust of the for profit medical establishment among the middle and poor classes.
You know if the anti-vaxxer is rich, they will easily get all the best healthcare in the world to save their life when they catch Covid, like Trump did. No matter how many beds the for profit hospitals allow, there will be one for a rich man.The filthy rich will spend their loot for quality medical attention some masked and vaccinated people could never get. So, really it doesn't matter if you are an anti-vaxxer, maskless idiot or a well meaning, concerned, vaccinated, mask wearing saint. Getting medical attention only depends on how rich you are.
So at this point, getting medical attention in the US is all about how much money you have and not about taking sane and legitimate precautions. If you're rich, there will be extra special medical care for you no matter how full up the average hospital is. How we ration medical care in the has very little to do with Covid.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,656 posts)if it's time to find a new career. God help us all....
plimsoll
(1,671 posts)Or putting a big DNR on themselves. The have a right to healthcare, but they refused healthcare (the vaccine) when offered. That choice now impacts other choices. They're the ones who are talking about "choice," it would be trying to respect their wishes.
PatSeg
(47,643 posts)Espousing we withhold medical treatment from COVID deniers further politicizes healthcare. Obviously, it is hard to feel much sympathy for the pain and suffering of such people, but we cannot encourage healthcare providers to pick and choose who receives proper medical care. It is their purpose not to judge their patients, but to ideally treat all the same.
We already see enough of that in modern medicine for many reasons. We should be striving to become better, not worse. Society will judge this patient and her husband and rightfully so, but we do not need to see that in our doctors and nurses.
HariSeldon
(457 posts)But we are already running out of beds in many areas and medical providers are complaining of exhaustion. Providers are people, too, and we are seriously reaching the point where rationing the provision of healthcare, serving only those who take all steps they have available to stem this crisis, is starting to look necessary, at least to me.
PatSeg
(47,643 posts)but we should avoid encouraging healthcare providers to play god when treating patients. However, I know sometimes difficult choices are inevitable.
Demobrat
(8,999 posts)I dont think their care should be socialized either. If they are unvaccinated by choice and live they should have to pay for the care themselves. Of course they wont be able to cover it all, but they should have to pay what they can based on income and assets.
If they spend the rest of their lives working to pay the bill, well, too bad. Thats the choice they made.
mrsadm
(1,198 posts)and am actually thankful for, Darwin at work here. Eliminating the mentally stupid people so the human race will be smarter on average in the future.
róisín_dubh
(11,797 posts)and I swear to god that if I need surgery and cant get it, Ill lose my shit.
Thankfully at the absolute worst I could have it done in England. But still.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,479 posts)yardwork
(61,715 posts)twodogsbarking
(9,842 posts)Keep spinning.
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)uptick in these stories over the past couple weeks. The right wing media brainwashing has/is definitely working.😕
gab13by13
(21,438 posts)since I am getting over a cold; 97% and I can smell and no fever.
This Covid has made me extra precautious. When my 7 year old visited me for a week we wore masks in stores when no one else was wearing them. I care about my grandchild.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,047 posts)TNNurse
(6,929 posts)Many take the Nightingale oath, I did.
9% oxygen is hard to imagine. She will surely not survive and if she did there would be permanent brain damage from that. Add a stroke and COVID and survival if possible would be vegetative.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)Stroke and a 9% oxygen. Not a good combination.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)At this point the right wingers have become a crazed cult, no different than Jonestown. Nothing left to do but limit the damage they can do to the health, climate, and democracy of the country.
Lonestarblue
(10,106 posts)Here in Austin, the mayor is voicing frustration because he cannot issue a mask mandate or require that city employees be vaccinated because our idiot governor signed an executive order forbidding city leaders from taking any actions to stop the spread of the virus. Texas is once again a hotspot in the nation. The recommendations for schools here are beyond ludicrous. Not only are masks forbidden but school leaders cannot notify parents if a child in their childs class has Covid. Nor will they do any contact tracing. Its as if we are just accepting the virus, and it kills however many people it can. Not the governors problem or concern.
I have continued wearing a mask when out, but very few other people do. Its time for private businesses to step up and require masks because our governor is clearly part of the Republican Pandemic Death Squad bringing illness and death to as many people as possible.
crickets
(25,986 posts)in any way should be criminally charged. To ban a reasonable health mandate designed to save lives is absolutely beyond the pale. Such policy deliberately, directly leads to the spread of illness and death among the population that governor is tasked to protect. It embodies the exact opposite of the responsibility the officeholder is tasked to uphold.
catrose
(5,075 posts)If the kid were still at home, I'd be homeschooling.
johnthewoodworker
(694 posts)So it goes.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)Pretty much have to look at them as the enemy for the future of our kids. grand kids, and the country as a democracy, along with the planet's climate.
Its hard to feel bad when someone that dangerous dies.
HariSeldon
(457 posts)It's what is leading up to the deaths that concerns me. I think they should stick to their healthcare plan as described by Grayson: Don't get sick.... Or if you do get sick, die quickly. I'd add "preferably before you get to the hospital."
Mysterian
(4,597 posts)Something our society needs to consider if we are to remain a healthy democracy.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,026 posts)(Actually more like willful ignorance)
Assisted suicide by FOX Network and Republican politicians.
Kid Berwyn
(14,990 posts)Many people follow a cowardly moron.
maryellen99
(3,790 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,990 posts)Propaganda is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert. Adolf Hitler
Wounded Bear
(58,730 posts)Irish_Dem
(47,501 posts)All for political gain.
These are ruthless sociopaths who will stop at nothing.
NJCher
(35,761 posts)Imagine what they will do to us if they take over.
Iraq war is a good example.
It is so hard to believe what they are doing, yet it is happening right before our eyes. If this was a proposal for a book, no publisher would buy it because it stretches credulity.
Irish_Dem
(47,501 posts)And people seem to just shrug it off. We have become desensitized to all of it, I guess.
Yes, there was no concern at all for the deaths and injury to the Iraqis or American soldiers.
We are all just necessary collateral damage in the quest for money and power.
Mankind is not evolving at all.
patphil
(6,230 posts)All the Covid deniers, vaccine deniers, those who attack science, medicine, and medical experts, those who politicize the whole concept of making the country safe so we can beat this horrible pandemic...none of them will ever get the justice they deserve for the pain, suffering, and death they cause.
Sure, there are a lot of people who put themselves in a position where they succumb to the Covid virus; dumb, ignorant people who are easily lead by those who wield power and/or influence. But, they could just as easily be lead to safety if these same enablers supported the medical evidence, and encouraged people to stay safe.
It's a tragedy, one that will continue unabated for quite some time. Each new variant will take it's toll, as it burns through the nation.
Stupid is one thing, but malicious actions by people with power and influence is quite another.
What they do is essentially premeditated murder.
usaf-vet
(6,215 posts)As a former military medic, we have always shared stories of some of the crazy things we have seen. She has been an EMT for several years and has been a volunteer on a local all-volunteer service.
As a joke, I anonymously sent her this T-shirt from Amazon.
https://tinyurl.com/3rmua2pn
Today she had a call the proves the point of the T-Shirt.
JoanofArgh
(14,971 posts)Thanks for posting.
Eom
IronLionZion
(45,559 posts)but would likely refuse to be tested or quarantine
LisaL
(44,974 posts)NT
Traildogbob
(8,830 posts)Before 2022 elections we may be able to absolutely credit Donald and Fox with Making American Great Again. With the elimination of all his cult followers. Those red hats will be collectors items for accuracy of prophecy. And a warning to all future generations. This was their brain on Trump.
dalton99a
(81,635 posts)Pas-de-Calais
(9,911 posts)Stroke? Laughable
9%? Not something to see
How low can I go type of thing
Celerity
(43,584 posts)GB_RN
(2,391 posts)The woman is brain dead. Im surprised they even bothered to intubate.
perfessor
(268 posts)... is that this mope will come away with his belief that covid is a hoax reinforced. He "knows" his wife died of a stroke. Yet the doctors say otherwise!! See how they twist the facts??!! Never was a covid death, he will say to all his friends, right up until he is intubated himself.
Sheesh.
Orrex
(63,232 posts)After a year and a half of being mocked for trying to be safe in the face of a historical global health catastrophe, I have little compassion left over for the people who've gone out of their way to weaponize their stubborn ignorance.
Upthevibe
(8,080 posts)..................... no F's to give...................
Shoeless Louis
(73 posts)Skittles
(153,212 posts)NOT funny
Response to Skittles (Reply #79)
roamer65 This message was self-deleted by its author.
roamer65
(36,747 posts)At best, it would only be palliative.
That needs to happen in this case.
Warpy
(111,370 posts)although they might have prevented the clot that caused her stroke. A 9% O2 saturation is just not compatible with life, hear heart and brain had been irreversibly damaged by then.
Hubby was in heavy denial and likely so was she. Covid is a weird disease. People can go 10 days without being particularly ill, even having a few periods when they feel perfectly fine. Day 10 or so is when people crash and burn and it is sudden and terrifying, even when the crash happens in the hospital Few people survive it, even with staff and equipment right there.
This is just sad and frustrating for doctors and nurses. Most likely, his/her denial and disinformation didn't kill her, Covid did. It just made the whole thing so much harder on the people who were trying to do their jobs.
Posted elsewhere is an article about how Pox News is trying to scrub their disinformation videos off the net. Good luck to them, too many people have excerpted them over the last year for that to happen efficiently. I want them to face consequences for yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, for killing people who made the mistake of trusting them.
live love laugh
(13,150 posts)Demovictory9
(32,482 posts)DFW
(54,447 posts)He is at the very least an unindicted co-conspiritor. How these people can give greater priority to Fox Noise than the lives of their own spouses is a mystery to me.