Doctor: Prepare for the worst
We never know when the end is near. We feel invincible, yet we are living in a pandemic, where any of us could find ourselves on the brink of death. The first death in Illinois was a registered nurse; recently, her sister also died, and their heartbroken brother was interviewed. In our lifetime, we have never seen a virus or illness that could wipe out families at once.
When the plane carrying NBA star Kobe Bryant crashed, everyone lamented all the families killed at once. The coronavirus is like multiple huge plane crashes every day. Imagine if we had had five plane crashes at Midway in the last two weeks. No one would fly again.
What are health care providers doing to prepare? First, I had a landline installed, so that when I collapse from the coronarvirus, my children will be able to call 911. Is that over the top? Not if you read the stories of the many health care providers who have died, including Kious Jordan Kelly, a 48-year-old nurse manager in New York City. One minute, he was texting his sister, then silence until she was notified that he had died.
As a hospice physician, I want everyone who is dying to be surrounded by loved ones, with their favorite songs playing. When you die from the coronavirus, you die alone in the hospital because your family is not allowed to visit. Hospitals across the country have restricted visitors, whether it is in the beginning of life or the end of life. This is a necessity to protect most vulnerable, but it robs families. Tell your family members that you love them now, for there will not be any bedside professions of love.
What does this mean to you? Talk to your loved ones; tell them where your will is and tell them what your goals are. Would you want to be on a ventilator? Would you want CPR? Or would you want to go home with hospice?
Please, unless you, or your loved one, would like to die alone, on a ventilator in a hospital surrounded by exhausted but compassionate health care workers, please stay home!
— Dr. K. Sarah Hoehn, University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago