CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) from the Front Lines of a Busy Hospital

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) has hit America and the rest of the world hard. We’re in a full pandemic and things are changing quickly. Coronavirus has hit my hometown, and it’s apparent we need to hunker down and settle into a ‘new normal’ for a while.

Times are so uncertain, and along with you, I’m processing the reality that we really don’t know how bad Coronavirus is going to get. I suspect it will become far worse the next couple of weeks… and that’s not because I am living in fear, that’s because I’m looking at data from other countries and doing the math.

We HAVE to act immediately. The faster we contain ourselves, the faster we flatten the Coronavirus curve, the more lives we save. This is a national effort and we need to take precautions right now!

I’m not a conspiracy theorist (I like to think of myself as a realist), and I have a dear friend on the front lines at one of the busiest hospitals in Chicago. We’ll call her Dr. Fabulous. We’ve been in constant contact… partly because she makes me laugh and she’s one of my favorite humans, and partly because I KNOW Dr. Fabulous is one of the smartest people on the planet and she’ll give me the real deal.

Here’s what Dr. Fabulous, someone who is living with Covid-19 in real-time, shared with me from the front lines:

• Coronavirus (Covid-19)  is a huge problem that’s going to get FAR WORSE before it gets better. And there’s nothing we can do to prevent this from coming… it’s already here. We HAVE to try and prevent the spread of this virus to encourage it to pass as quickly as possible, flatten the curve, to try to ease the strain on our healthcare system and healthcare workers as much as possible.
• It’s hard to comprehend. My bosses are 60+ year old men and we’re asking them to stay home and let the young doctors treat patients.
• In Italy they are no longer testing healthcare workers. It’s assumed they all have it and they’re coming to work. Otherwise there aren’t enough doctors to help in the hospitals.
• What is happening in Italy is too hard for most people to even comprehend. Doctors are having to choose who dies at this point because they can’t treat everyone who needs it. And they have one of the most advanced and comprehensive healthcare systems in the world. Based on their experiences from the past three weeks with this virus, they recommend to cancel everything now! They shut down their country.
• We have the exact same virus rippling through our country. Why are we expecting a different outcome?
• I’m incredibly worried for at-risk groups. We are supposed to be at full capacity in 2 weeks. I pray that’s a miscalculation.
• I think we learned too late from Italy whose hospitals are literally overwhelmed. The advice our doctors are getting from Italy is  ‘rest up and sleep, be prepared to work outside your speciality’
• We are grossly under-testing and some estimates say it’s probably ten times higher than what is being reported in the US
• I fully plan to be exposed. We are quarantining doctors until we don’t have enough left, and then when we don’t have enough, we just decide who works and who doesn’t.
• It’s literally a Sophie’s Choice with my patients and I’m having to decide whether patients should come to me in the hospital to get treatment they need to stay alive, knowing if they come to the hospital there’s Coronavirus (Covid-19) and if they get it they could die.
• We did not take this seriously fast enough. It sucks
• I will literally do anything for these patients of mine.

So that’s the scoop from the front lines. If you think this “virus thing” is business as usual, it’s not. This pandemic is poised to affect our most vulnerable populations. You need to start social distancing today. Like, right now.

• Wash your hands people! Sanitize yourself and the space you live in! Stay home if you can, avoid crowds, and definitely isolate yourself if you feel even the tiniest bit ill.
• Please think of others along with yourself. Buy only what you need and will use, so there will be plenty to go around. This especially applies to sanitizing and medical supplies that compromised people rely on.
• Skip the dinner out at a restaurant, order in if you have to.
• Make sure your elderly neighbor is stocked, grab a few extra pantry staples to donate at your local food bank, and remind yourself it’s a privilege to have the resources to prepare.
• You can spread coronavirus without having symptoms; social distancing is key to containing this. If you see others NOT limiting their exposure  gently remind them.
• This panic is hurting small, local businesses, and restaurants and staff right in the pocket. If you’re ordering takeout from your favorite local restaurant, TIP more than usual. Or purchase gift cards to use in the future to help them stay afloat during this pandemic.
• Skip the crowded workout class.
• Ask yourself every time you step outside how necessary it is.

We have limited our children’s educations and stopped large events, now we all have to prioritize our civic responsibility to flatten the Coronavirus (Covid-19) curve.

The faster we do this, the fewer people die, the faster this is behind us!

Help save lives right now.  Stay away from others. Together we can.