FB post by a young physician I know in Arizona
Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2020, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)
Zahid is a pulmonary/critical care fellow who works with the nurse in Arizona. I have known him since he was about 6 years old. His parents are physicians in Pakistan and went to medical school there with my husband. His sister is also a physician in Detroit. You will never meet finer people. Yesterday he posted about the nurse now made famous by standing up to protestors on FB. His post has been shared almost 200 times. (Thanks to NNadir for suggesting I create a separate thread. I don't know how to post pictures...)
This is Lauren. She is a good friend and an ECMO/ICU nurse at my hospital. She is one of our best. An incredibly kind human and a badass nurse. Today she stood up for healthcare workers as protestors descended upon the State Capitol. She stood in silence as people called her a ‘fake nurse’ & ‘paid actor’ amongst other horrendous things. Ironically, she has spent many days in the Covid ICU caring for our sickest patients. She stood for those who are on life support and have no voice of their own. She stood for the 42,604 Americans who have died so far. She stood for her colleagues; nurses, therapists, techs, janitorial staff, doctors and security amongst others. She stood up for those very protestors who hurled obscenities at her. When they inevitably contract Covid-19 and transmit it to their loved ones, Lauren will be one of the first faces they will see when they are admitted to the ICU. She may also be one of the last faces that they ever see. When in their ignorance and hubris, they have caused the demise of their own mother or father, Lauren will be standing in silence next to them yet again, this time in mourning. She made us all incredibly proud today.
We extend an invitation to those who believe that they are being stripped of their civil liberties or that this is a giant hoax or that healthcare workers and the media are sensationalizing this pandemic for our own vested interests. To those who would turn a global pandemic into a twisted partisan issue. To those who foolishly believe that this virus discriminates based off of political ideology, race, religion or creed. We invite you to come spend a day in our Covid ICU with our nurses, therapists and physicians. You will spend the day wearing an n95 mask which will pretty much cut off circulation to your face. Don’t worry, you will get used to the sensation after a while. You’ll also get used to the dull constant headache that becomes a fixture after you have spent the day rebreathing CO2. You will learn how to don and doff PPE each time you interact with one of your patients. You will learn to live with the constant uncertainty of wondering if you have already caught the virus. If tomorrow will be the last time that you see your loved ones for the immediate future because you will need to start self quarantining. You will learn the familiar subtle change in tone of the code bells prior to a ‘Code Blue’ being called on the overhead. As you rush into a strangers room, you will gaze upon their lifeless eyes and blue lips. You will frantically begin to perform CPR, painfully aware of the fact that with each chest compression, you may potentially be aerosolizing the virus. You will watch as we place invasive central lines, arterial lines and chest tubes. You will stand at the head of the bed with us while we intubate a Covid-19 patient, inches away from their mouth, always cognizant of the damage that can be done with just one cough. You will stand next to us when we tell a husband over the phone that his wife has passed away, surrounded by strangers in space suits. The worst part of it all, he will not be allowed to see the love of his life to say he loves her one last time because of the infection risk it poses to him and other members of the public. You will stand in silence as you listen to another human express the deepest level of anguish possible, the tone of his cries seared into your memory.
Perhaps then you will understand.
= new reply since forum marked as read
...go to the thread where the picture is: She's the ICU nurse who silently stood in protest at the Phoenix rally to reopen Arizona.
Place your cursor over the picture and right click with your mouse.
Left click on "Copy Image Address"
Paste it here by right clicking then left clicking on "Paste."
Thank you again, so much, for posting this.
I am very moved by these fine young people, the nurse, and your friend the doctor.
We all need to celebrate life and courage. I hope we can all appreciate, from this day forward, the courage and the sacrifice so many are making.
