Read on Twitter
When I was a medical student, I did an elective with the Medical Examiner. I was considering Forensic Pathology as a career. I was fascinated by the death investigation process. Every day a new list of “admissions” to go through.
Autopsies were like detective work... but the clues left at the scene of death were just as important. Oftentimes the autopsy confirmed what was already known or highly suspected as the cause of death.
The whole documentation process was also fascinating. The weighing, measuring, photographing, sampling fluids as a dead person arrived at the ME office. Routinely done but gathered critical evidence.
I witnessed diagnoses after sudden death that helped the living... such as a young man not yet 40 who died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He had bad untreated hypertension. This discovery allowed for screening his relatives to protect them from similar outcomes.
Homicides, suicides, accidents, death by natural causes but in unnatural places (hotels for ex.)... no day was ever the same during that elective.
The common thing for all of these deaths is that they were almost always sudden & unexpected, at least for the surviving family members & friends (some suicides were planned well in advance by the individual).
My point is this. I would always go to bed wondering who would be next to arrive as a “case” at the ME office. It really played on my mind that someone could be walking around on Sunday, and lying on a cold stainless steel table on Monday morning when I arrived.
With the arrival of the #COVID19 variants in #Alberta, and now the plans to start “reopening the economy”, I feel the same way I did as a medical student on that Medical Examiner elective rotation.
There are people walking around today, living their lives, have no idea these are the last days of their lives. It doesn’t have to be this way, but @jkenney thinks “tHe eCoNoMy” is more important. #Albertans deserve so much better.
Get vaccinated when you can. Until then, I hope you & your loved ones stay safe despite the UCP mismanagement of the pandemic response. #ableg
