Help us help you — by wearing a mask, doctor pleads
In the beginning, we didn’t know that face coverings could prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. I wish we, the medical community, had more information and could have done better.
It has been a confusing time. We didn’t appreciate the danger or know how things would evolve. Accepting the inherent uncertainty of our current times is hard.
More than 120,000 people in the United States alone have lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children have lost their parents. Millions have lost their jobs or struggled through pay cuts. We have all been affected and hurt. In times of uncertainty I find solace in knowing that I did everything I could to better the situation. Your doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and other health care workers cannot stop this virus. We need your help. I cannot emphasize this enough — even the scientists with drug discoveries and vaccines will not save us. We, as a community, must save ourselves.
Like you, I cannot change what has happened in the past. But I can promise to walk with you through this crisis with transparency. Let us be clear, our darkest days may be yet to come. We might be wrong but what we know, so far, of this virus combined with our collective experience is worrisome. We must prepare for and try to minimize those darkest days.
Yesterday I walked out of a business because, despite a county ordinance, none of their workers were wearing masks. Even the gentleman stationed at the front desk, in air conditioning, kept it on his wrist. When asked, he claimed that COVID-19 was something made up by people in a segment of our population. Given Houston’s current growth in the number of new infections, the governor is urging people to stay home. I wish COVID-19 was some sort of hoax, but it isn’t. The unreasonable excuses to not wear a mask, such as inhaled carbon dioxide, are simply incorrect. Just ask the thousands of health care workers who wear masks, every single day at work for years, in order to care for you and your loved ones. On Monday night, I learned that my hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, made the challenging but right decision to treat select adult patients through transfers from other Texas Medical Center institutions. No matter what, we will still be here for you, but please help us help you.
At this moment, when it is not possible to socially distance, wearing a mask is one of the best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. The life you save by masking up might very well be that of a loved one. Ask yourself, a year from now, will you be able to say “I did everything I thought possible to stop the spread of the pandemic?” As a pediatrician, I have had numerous heart-wrenching conversations. I have walked parents away from the what-ifs: What if I had done X? Would my child have not gotten sick? The worst are when they ignored public health recommendations. Please, wear a mask.