Confessions of an ICU doctor during COVID

This is the only post I can tell what part you wrote, so I'll repeat again, all the posters in my thread posted in May that dismissed social distancing and pretended it wasn't a big deal were liberals who spend all their time hating on Trump. "It's not like Sweden at all." Quarantine was in effect and people just weren't taking it seriously because the body count didn't look like NY. This is not a political issue - it is very much an American inability to use common sense.

At the same time, Texas has a large population of fat and unhealthy people who laughed at me when I told them to modify their diets. That means they're easily taken out by any kind of bug. I do think hospitals should be more selective in who they have to treat and give all first responders and doctors a little more breathing space instead of working them into the ground. It's hard enough for me to were a mask for 2 hours at a time, can't imagine wearing a double mask on a 12 hour shift with a gown on sticking needles in patients.

 

Do you think the President has done a good job leading the USA through this pandemic?

 

I made one post in that thread and I stand by it:

 

No, but neither did England. The difference between the 2 countries is that 1 has a population that listens to their leaders. Now England is starting to open up bars... together as a country .. we'll see how they are 1 month from now.

The telling sign is that when quarantine was instituted, even when states were vigilant, people DGAF. As an adult I'm capable of making my own decisions , especially when we have so much info about how dangerous it is, and not expecting a politician to spoon feed me. If Americans could use the old McGrady saying... "it's on me"... we'd be heading into a really good place now.Aren't you embarrassed of constantly blaming Trump when he wasn't the one who put hundreds of thousands of "protestors" out together a couple weeks ago? Everybody forgot about quarantine then .

 

@BallaDoc
Thank you for sharing this information and it matches a lot of what I’ve heard from friends In the medical field. Your anger and frustration are completely understandable and not misplaced.

One of the things that you’ve mentioned is that is that how this disease affects people differently and that it is affecting more than the elderly. It does seem like there are people who are dealing with some long term effects of this disease with a range of problems besides respiratory such as neurological issues and blood clots. I have. Few friends who are younger than 40 who have been dealing with these issues for months now.

Your description of intubating people and the dangers and difficulty with it matches with what I’ve heard. One thing I heard from a former Judo student who is an ER doctor in Germany is that they’ve been seeing success with high oxygen treatment and not intubating. Ive heard that other facilities are seeing success with that too. I’m not a doctor and the only medical training I’ve had is sports and disaster related first aid so I can’t tell you more than that. I certainly am not qualified or will pretend I can tell you how to do your job but passing on some information that I hope is helpful.

Thank you again for sharing and speaking out. Hopefully more people will listen to what you and others have to say.

 

You and I agree that Trump had not done a good job of leadership during this pandemic. I cannot remember the last time he spoke at length about the severity of the situation. I cannot remember the last time he appeared with Fauci or others at a press conference. He continually refuses to set an example and use a mask. He has made fun of people wearing masks. He continually puts people at risk by scheduling events and not insisting that attendees wear masks and distance. As a matter of fact the administration has gone out of their way to put people closer together at his events.

Sure he cut off travel from China, but what he neglects to mention is how tens of thousands of mostly US citizens were allowed back in to the USA from China after his ban (as they should have been) with little to no testing, quarantine or follow up.

He continues to insist this will magically go away. He only looks at death rates which fortunately are low, while neglecting the pain and suffering folks go through at times to recover. He neglects the pain of folks not being able to visit their loved ones in a hospital, even for non COVID related events.

He boasts about the surging job market while ignoring the fact those are people going back to existing jobs.

And I'M the one that should be embarrassed?

 

Yep.

 

@BallaDoc I wouldn't waste energy on bigtexx. His whole argument is based on current deaths and everything else doesn't matter. I've seen the arguments go on for days and its futile. He is egotistical, entitled, typical "Karen" and there is really no point of engaging in civil conversation.

I am curious, what has your success rate been with the drugs that have seen mixed results?

 

That sucks brother, stay safe. Believe me, many of us are doing what we can to minimize our risk of catching this ****. We seriously care about you all in the frontlines and know that your resources are finite, including trained staff for critical care. I keep telling everyone I can to stay safe. I share articles, share my thoughts, whatever I can do to keep others alerted, including friends and my own family.

I am sorry that we can't reach everybody. It's the price we pay for living in a free society that is full of entitled brats. Please keep your head above water and know that many of us are sending our positive energy your away along with complying with guidelines and such. We don't want to be a burden on you guys and also end up in the hospital.

One more comment, I've heard their is a different strain this second wave, maybe that's why what worked previously is not working now?

 

Thanks for the response. Both of my parents are in Mexico. They are separated and live in different cities. I've kept on my mom and dad everyday to stay safe. I tried to convince my mom to stop working and I would send her money for necessities, but she refused to listen to me. My dad, well I wouldn't be able to convince him to leave his job although I did plant the seed letting him know that if he wants to quit I will support him financially 100%.

My mom lives around a bunch of people that believe it's a hoax, so I asked her that if she insisted on staying open to close access to her store and hand stuff to people and also wash hands constantly and wear a mask. I got through to her. My dad, he works in a convenience store and is a cashier. I am worried about him every day and I just keep on him to keep his mask on and wash his hands frequently.

I feel powerless having my folks far from me. I love them and I just hope they don't catch this awful virus.

 

Is this you OP?



@bigtexxx