COVID-19: Chapter 8 - Ongoing source of viral information, and a little fun

:v:

Two things I’m hearing from my friends and people I follow online:

  1. There’s a massive nursing shortage seemingly across the whole US
  2. ER volumes are up
  3. PICUs are drowning in RSV, typically a wintertime respiratory virus

Seems officially not-good to me. If RSV is spreading, covid is too.

1 Like

If we’re “severely overestimating” their training, then what do you think the average person is doing? I mean what you are saying is absolutely correct with respect to her credibility on the subject. However, anyone who is going to be persuaded by her, will give her more credibility than she deserves. And it’s not like she was trying to set them straight on that particular issue.

I’m struggling with what the point of your post here is. The answer to your question is less, and you know that it’s less. So how bout you get to a point? Does she deserve to die because she had a bad opinion?

My point was that your point was irrelevant. Her actual level of expertise (i.e., ~0) doesn’t matter. What matters (if it matters at all) is her perceived level of expertise.

I have no dog in the “does she deserve to die” debate (I’m not even sure that’s an accurate way to frame what is going on). I can see both sides of that one.

Now if kids can’t transmit Covid then babies certainly can’t.

Seriously my son at 5 months old had a mystery condition and was in the hospital (finally determined to be an intusuppsection) and twice had the room next door later determined to have RSV and somehow faded it. He got tested twice a day I think.

He’s gonna be 28 in September.

3 Likes

Also I feel like it’s story time for what happens when a typical covid patient dies from respiratory failure, because it’s a fucking nightmare I’ve had over and over again.

Usually it happens over days to a week. Some people die fast, but most die slow.

As their lungs turn to shit, they get more air hunger, and become impossible to sedate. This lasts for hours, and sometimes even days. You can try different vent modes, they seem to tolerate APRV better than others, but they will sit there and fight the vent over and over again struggling to breath. Propofol, versed, fentanyl, ketamine, precedex, it doesn’t matter. They struggle.

Towards the end, they stop struggling. They usually start having their oxygen levels really drop then. You change a vent setting or maybe fire off some TNK, but it doesn’t matter. They start dropping more, you push the vent settings beyond what’s normally acceptable. If they’re lucky they pop a lung and die fast.

But they don’t pop a lung or you fix the pneumothorax with a finger thoracotomy planning to put in a proper tube in a few minutes, but they start fighting the vent more because it’s incredibly painful to have a pplat of 50+ in your chest (max is supposed to be 30).

But then they die, you do some CPR and some epi like a good doctor is supposed to, and you even get them back! But they’ll fucking die in a few minutes again anyways, after choking on their own lung’s fluids slowly for days.

But hey, she made some bad tweets so fuck her right?

6 Likes

Intussusception is such a fucking hard call to make. You have to get the right imaging at the right time, damn near impossible.

On the flip side, the bad tweets encouraged more of exactly the suffering you just described, including for some people who medically can’t get the vaccine.

It’s easy to hate anyone in the abstract and hard to hate anyone you have a human connection with. An anti-vax nurse is in the abstract for some posters but reminds you of someone you know so the lens of the story is different. Doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.

5 Likes

I had just taken over for my wife for the day. He was feeling a lot better and the Dr saw him on the way into the ward and said maybe he can go home today. 10 minutes later he reviews the latest labs and his wbc had spiked. They though it was a ruptured appendix (that interim after they burst the patient feels better) couldnt tell on the imaging so they cut him open to find it. Lost 1/3 of the lower intestine and the valve.

Try giving Questran(?) to a toddler who has figured out you put it in orange food. We’d mix it in spaghetti Os or jello or sherbet. He’d sniff it and then fling his spoon across the room. Damn this bile acids blistered his skin. His poor body finally adjusted when he was about 3 1/2.

2 Likes

I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy and all this post does is make me long for a rational society that allows euthanasia. Jfc if you can’t inject me then don’t do shit and just let me die ASAP

Serious question: How is it being a good doctor to prolong suffering for a life that can not be saved?

Did you mean some who follow protocol?

2 Likes

There was never any sort of protocol written down.

We made calls.

I don’t particularly want to get into it.

That is a tough spot, please go easy on docs on this topic.

If the chance of long term survival is 1/2 then it’s any easy call. Same with 1/billion. It’s the odds in between…

But then I’m the guy that when my older divorced brother named me his medical power of attorney I suggested we pull the plug right away. He said he is healthy and he felt fine. I said it was no longer up to him.

2 Likes

Unless there are deleted posts, this didn’t actually happen. The closest anyone came is hokie saying he had zero sympathy for her, which is really, really tame.

3 Likes

I don’t blame you. I can’t even imagine the mental and physical toll this must take on those working in the trenches. I wouldn’t have the mental fortitude

2 Likes

No disrespect to docs whatsoever. They are heroes imo. My only point was that the zeitgeist needs to shift when it comes to preserving every last breath regardless of survivability or suffering

I totally respect/get a doctor not wanting to be even somewhat gleeful at anyone dying. I dont feel the same way personally but you see that opinion a lot.
I feel the same way I would with her like I would with a drunk driver that lost their life. No sympathy for people who die from destructive behaviors that could impact others.

1 Like

That’s on her.

2 Likes

Oh and another thing, some of y’all seem to think that there’s no way that you could possibly grow up in Buttfuck, Louisiana and fall prey to some bad propaganda.

You guys are way overestimating yourselves. Not everyone would, but enough would.

damn son, that’s a deep dive right there.