Read on Twitter
“Our actions impact others” - a thread on the effect of #COVID19
You’re tired of the restrictions. Tired of the masks. Tired of not being able to do the things you want to do. And your daughter has a birthday coming up and you just want her to have fun.
You’re tired of the restrictions. Tired of the masks. Tired of not being able to do the things you want to do. And your daughter has a birthday coming up and you just want her to have fun.
She’s a child, and kids don’t get really sick with COVID-19, right?
So you decide to host a birthday party: “We have to let our kids live their lives,” you justify to yourself.
What you don’t realize is that one of the children attending the party is an asymptomatic carrier.
So you decide to host a birthday party: “We have to let our kids live their lives,” you justify to yourself.
What you don’t realize is that one of the children attending the party is an asymptomatic carrier.
The child hasn’t had any symptoms, but she’s shedding a high amount of virus during the party, which results in a few of the other children being infected.
One of those children happens to live in a home with her 60 yo grandmother, who’s recovering from treatment for leukemia
One of those children happens to live in a home with her 60 yo grandmother, who’s recovering from treatment for leukemia
Unfortunately, ~5 days later, the grandmother starts to feel ill. It starts out mild, but she quickly develops difficulty breathing. Her family takes her to the hospital.
In the ED, the grandmother is cared for by a team who has worked 10 h/d, 6 d/week for the past 9 months.
In the ED, the grandmother is cared for by a team who has worked 10 h/d, 6 d/week for the past 9 months.
The team is exhausted and they haven’t spent enough time with their own family. The stress of the job is having an impact on their relationships.
But they treat the grandmother as if she’s their only patient. Because that’s what they do. Care for others.
But they treat the grandmother as if she’s their only patient. Because that’s what they do. Care for others.
A nasal swab is collected in the ED and sent to the lab. When the sample arrives, it’s one of 2,000 others that were collected that day in the town. Each one obtained by a team of nurses who stood outside all day, wearing N95 masks and eye protection they’ve reused all week.
It’s 11:30PM when the grandmother’s sample arrives in the lab. The lab staff had hoped to get home in time to tuck their kids into bed, but they decided to stay late so the grandmother’s test, along with 100 others, could be completed before the morning.
The grandmother’s result is positive for COVID-19. After spending the night in the ED, she’s admitted to the hospital. The room she’s placed in had been reserved for a young man who was supposed to have surgery that day to remove a suspicious mass on his kidney.
But due to the COVID-19 surge, his surgery was canceled and will have to wait for another day.
While the grandmother is cared for in the hospital, the results of her test end up on a list sent to a 35 yo who has been redeployed from her job as a secretary to a contact tracer.
While the grandmother is cared for in the hospital, the results of her test end up on a list sent to a 35 yo who has been redeployed from her job as a secretary to a contact tracer.
She looks at the list, which includes the names and contacts of >100 people and she knows she’ll be on the phone for the next 9 hours. One by one, she calls people on the list and goes through a methodical list of questions:
“Who have you been around?”
“For how long?”
“Who have you been around?”
“For how long?”
Her conversations identify an additional 200 people who will need to be tested, and potentially quarantined. Seven of these may have been exposed through interactions with the grandmother.
Back in the hospital, the grandmother’s condition worsens.
Back in the hospital, the grandmother’s condition worsens.
She’s not able to maintain adequate oxygen levels and her fever remains high. The COVID-19 care team reviews her case, along with those of 50 other patients admitted with COVID-19. They only have enough supply of antiviral to treat 30 of these patients.
So they undertake the painstaking process of determining who will be prioritized to receive antiviral treatment, and who will not. Unfortunately, the grandmother is not able to receive antiviral treatment, as others are deemed to be more ill.
10 days later, you see a post on Facebook from the mother of your daughter’s friend. It reads:
“Our family is devastated by the loss of my mother. She was winning the battle against leukemia, but lost her battle with COVID-19. We are heartbroken and will miss her so much.”
“Our family is devastated by the loss of my mother. She was winning the battle against leukemia, but lost her battle with COVID-19. We are heartbroken and will miss her so much.”
“How sad,” you think. “I wonder how she was infected?”
