It is cruel and inhumane to die alone

The fear of dying alone is nearly universal — a fact of which anyone who’s taken care of a critically ill patient is acutely aware. A few days ago my friend was doing work for me and wasn’t wearing a mask. I assumed that he was fully vaccinated, but I was wrong. He wasn’t. Today, he is in the Covid’s hospital fighting to live. As he fights to stay alive, there is no one to hold his hands, hug him, and talk with him, to hear his last words, his regrets, his disappointments, his hurts, and his pains. Editor, we can’t allow people to die alone. No one should have to die alone. Nothing is more terrifying than dying alone. That is cruel and inhuman punishment.

Editor, does the Covid’s Hospital permit chaplains (pastors) to be with the patients as they face death? The hospital should permit fully vaccinated chaplains to visit and pray with dying patients so they don’t have to die alone. Editor, I understand that the hospital doesn’t want the virus to spread so it prohibits visitors. I get that. But with the care and compassion of frontline health care workers, maybe we can harness creative solutions to help patients feel some connection, while still keeping everyone safe.

Guyana’s health care system can do better. As telehealth and virtual meetings become the new normal, so can telecommunication between isolated patients and their families. Perhaps setting up a tablet computer facing the patient or repurposing a workstation on wheels logged in to a video chat would be a solution. In the twentieth- first century, the fear of dying alone must not be. Death is inevitable. But dying alone must not be inevitable too. Come on people, we can do better for dying patients. Editor, please pray every day for the patients in the Covid’s hospital and for the frontline health care workers.