I almost yelled at some people having a grand old time with their friends on the trails yesterday. Do they not understand what is going on? Do they not care? No, they don't get it and they don't care (at least in my mind). People challenging and not abiding by the guidelines (our president included) are feeding flames of rage inside me. I'm at very low risk of getting seriously ill from coronavirus. But someone I love a lot is not at low risk. The person I was supposed to marry 2 weeks ago (but didn't bc coronavirus), the person I live with, this person who I love with my whole heart is tasked with caring for very sick people right now. As an anesthesiologist (experts in creating artificial airways) his skills have been requested in ICUs and on special "intubation teams" to provide the safest, most contained care to patients who are very sick. We know that health care providers inhaling the aerosolized coronavirus are getting sicker than people contracting it through droplet. Creating airways and being right in a patients face while you're doing it places you at high risk. I've listened in on the calls with his professional organization and the surgeon general. I'm acutely aware of the danger to anesthesiologists right now. We spend most days and nights (when we're not working or homeschooling our kids or cooking or cleaning) reading guidelines, reading updates, discussing what he should and shouldn't do right now. We talk until we fall asleep in bed about what to do. What are the ethics of helping when hospitals can't provide proper PPE? What are the ethics of not helping when you have skills that can save peoples lives? One minute I think "I don't care about other people, I want my husband to be safe". the next minute I think "If my son were sick in the hospital, I hope to God someone as skilled and caring as Freddy would be there to help him". After these long hours of debates, we go outside and see people congregating and having fun. We flip on the TV and see our president accusing medical staff of stealing supplies. Friends tell me they're traveling because 'oh well, I probably won't get sick'. All I want inside is for all of them to be restricted from having treatment once they get sick and need my husband's help. You don't get to be reckless and run around like none of this matters, but beg for the best help available when you or someone you care about is sick. Actually, that's not true. You do get to do that. And some of you are doing that. And you'll still be taken care of. And you might get my husband or someone like him very sick because of your choice. And I can do nothing about it except beg you to stay home. Follow CDC guidelines. Look out for yourselves and people you don't even know. Please. No play dates. No coffee. No visits with friends. No being cute about it. You are not supposed to socialize in person with anyone who doesn't live in your home. Walking with your friends and having coffee 6 feet apart does not count. If you're confused about what it means, here's a resource: If you're not confused about what it means, you just don't want to do it, please do it for me and/or Freddy and our kids. Help us sleep a bit easier and feel confident that people aren't placing him at unnecessary risk right now. Much love to everyone fighting this on the front lines. Let's take care of each other however we can ❤️
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hea...ntine
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