• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Joe Exotic leaves everything to fiance Seth Posey in new will
  • Kim Petras defends Sam Smith amid backlash: ‘We are going backwards!’
  • Qualified? Melania Trump Gave Advice In Situation Room During Killing Of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Defense Department Whistle-Blower Claims

US doctors reflect on exhaustion, trauma of one million Covid deaths

Towleroad May 12, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
AFP
520298 origin 1
Jospeh Varon recalls nurses crying as they faced never-ending ICU admissions, beds in hallways, one intubation after another

Washington (AFP) – Joseph Varon — who is chief of intensive care at United Memorial, a small hospital that mainly treats minority patients in Houston — made headlines when a photo of him hugging an elderly Covid patient during Thanksgiving in 2020 went viral.

While that man went on to recover, it was those that did not make it that haunt Varon. 

“As a doctor, just in the last two years I have signed more death certificates than ever,” he said.

As the United States marks the grim milestone of one million Covid deaths, health care workers who have served on the frontlines continue to shoulder a heavy burden, even as the rest of society has moved on. 

Many are exhausted, traumatized, and still afraid of crowded settings.

Varon remembers well his first death, that of an immigrant working in a hotel.

“He came into the hospital, and literally within a week he died, at 34 years of age without any pre-existing medical conditions,” he said.

From then, until the last big wave at the start of this year, there was little respite.

Varon recalls nurses crying as they faced never-ending ICU admissions, beds in hallways, one intubation after another.

He also remembers his wife asking him to change his clothes in the garage before entering their home, after 20-hour shifts. 

The Thanksgiving photograph, said Varon, “became a symbol that we doctors also have feelings.” 

At that moment, he didn’t care about protecting himself, but wanted to give comfort to a man who didn’t know if he’d make it and couldn’t see his wife, since visits were not permitted.

The demands of work also extracted a personal toll. Varon feels far older than his 59 years, hasn’t gone on vacation since the start of the pandemic, and was phoning in prescriptions on the day of his daughter’s wedding.

He now sees “light at the end of the tunnel” and isn’t seeing many Covid patients —  though he is seeing patients with post-Covid disorders including heart and lung issues.

  • Stressed by crowds – 

Early on, the disease was a total mystery: how it was transmitted, who was most susceptible, how to treat it. 

Health workers feared bringing it home to their loved ones, or dying themselves. 

That fear was heightened for Daniel Brenner, an emergency physician interviewed by AFP at the start of the pandemic, when doctors were scrambling to find the right strategies to deal with severe lung injury caused by serious cases of Covid. 

Brenner’s wife is also an emergency doctor — and until the vaccine came along, they lived in dread of leaving behind their two young children, now aged five and three.

“The thought of dying because of what you do and leaving your children as orphans is terrifying,” the 38-year-old said.

Now working in Indianapolis, Brenner says he’s found it hard to re-adjust to crowds, despite far lower levels of Covid in the community, and hardly does things he used to take for granted, like eating inside restaurants.

“It’s unfortunate because I’m trying to make sure that I don’t inflict my trauma on my kids,” he said, becoming emotional. 

“I want to make sure that they have enriching fulfilling things in their lives, but it’s really hard when I’m trying to figure out what’s safe.”

The vaccine was a major turning point, says Brenner, greatly reducing the risk of severe disease and lifting a weight off his shoulders.

But there are still vaccine holdouts getting sick.

“I have a mixture of sadness and frustration because it’s preventable and I see people who are spreading misinformation, and doing themselves and their neighbors and their family a disservice,” he said.

On a more hopeful note, Brenner makes a point of talking to all high-risk patients he sees about Covid vaccinations, and finds that the hesitant are generally amenable once he addresses their fears. 

“The vast majority of my patients, after I have that conversation, ask me where to get vaccinated,” he says.

Brenner directs them to a walkup clinic within the same hospital.

Topics: A News, Aaon, Milestones, Society More Posts About: Covid-19, Deaths, ER, Physicians

Related Posts
  • Anne Heche wanted Miley Cyrus to play her in movie about her life
  • ‘Oh God Thank You’: Anne Heche’s Ex James Tupper Praises Emily Bergl For Slamming Rumors The Late Actress Was ‘Crazy’
  • Robert De Niro pays tribute to ‘wonderful’ Anne Heche
  • Kim Petras defends Sam Smith amid backlash: ‘We are going backwards!’

    Kim Petras defends Sam Smith amid backlash: ‘We are going backwards!’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Petras thinks the world is “going backwards” with its attitudes toward sexual expression. The 30-year-old singer teamed up with her fellow pop star for ‘Unholy’ and following the backlash over …Read More »
  • Qualified? Melania Trump Gave Advice In Situation Room During Killing Of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Defense Department Whistle-Blower Claims

    Qualified? Melania Trump Gave Advice In Situation Room During Killing Of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Defense Department Whistle-Blower Claims

    Published by Radar Online mega Former First Lady Melania Trump was reportedly present for one of the Situation Room’s most important chairs during the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — going so far as …Read More »
  • 2023 Grammys Red Carpet: See Photos Of Lizzo, Doja Cat, Shania Twain & More!

    2023 Grammys Red Carpet: See Photos Of Lizzo, Doja Cat, Shania Twain & More!

    Published by OK Magazine cbs The biggest night in music has arrived! The 65th Annual Grammy Awards kicked off with a fabulous red carpet, with celebs going all out for the Sunday, February 5, show, which …Read More »
  • Fans Go Off On Shania Twain’s Confusing Grammys Outfit: ‘Supervillain Convention’

    Fans Go Off On Shania Twain’s Confusing Grammys Outfit: ‘Supervillain Convention’

    Published by OK Magazine Francis Specker/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. Shania Twain made a statement at the 2023 Grammy Awards. On Sunday, February 5, the country star, 57, sported a white and black outfit — with …Read More »
Previous Post: « U.S. prosecutors open grand jury probe into Trump’s handling of classified records -NYT
Next Post: Protesters Dressed As ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Gather Outside Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s Home Ahead Of Roe v. Wade Vote »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Ron DeSantis retaliates against Florida venue that hosted drag show in December

    Ron DeSantis retaliates against Florida venue that hosted drag show in December

  • Beyoncé Could Make Music History at the 2023 Grammy Awards

    Beyoncé Could Make Music History at the 2023 Grammy Awards

  • Behold: The new GOP culture wars | Opinion

    Behold: The new GOP culture wars | Opinion

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

    Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

    James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

  • Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

    Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

RSS Partner Links

  • Mary J. Blige Delivers Incredible Performance of 'Good Morning Gorgeous' at Grammys 2023
  • Madonna Introduces Grammy Winners Kim Petras & Sam Smith
  • 65th Annual Grammy Awards 2023: Open Thread
  • Viola Davis has earned EGOT starts with Grammy Award for memoir audiobook narration
  • Bowen Yang Nails His Latest Inanimate Object (Wait ...)
  • Trump: All Negative Polls Are Wrong, 'Our Poll Numbers Are Excellent'
  • Open Post: Hosted By An Ohio Animal Shelter That Will Name A Litter Box After Your Ex For Valentine’s Day

Most Recent

  • Joe Exotic leaves everything to fiance Seth Posey in new will

    Joe Exotic leaves everything to fiance Seth Posey in new will

  • Kim Petras defends Sam Smith amid backlash: ‘We are going backwards!’

    Kim Petras defends Sam Smith amid backlash: ‘We are going backwards!’

  • Qualified? Melania Trump Gave Advice In Situation Room During Killing Of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Defense Department Whistle-Blower Claims

    Qualified? Melania Trump Gave Advice In Situation Room During Killing Of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, Defense Department Whistle-Blower Claims

  • 2023 Grammys Red Carpet: See Photos Of Lizzo, Doja Cat, Shania Twain & More!

    2023 Grammys Red Carpet: See Photos Of Lizzo, Doja Cat, Shania Twain & More!

  • Fans Go Off On Shania Twain’s Confusing Grammys Outfit: ‘Supervillain Convention’

    Fans Go Off On Shania Twain’s Confusing Grammys Outfit: ‘Supervillain Convention’

  • Viola Davis achieves EGOT status at Grammy Awards

    Viola Davis achieves EGOT status at Grammy Awards

  • Pope Francis says laws criminalising LGBT people are a ‘sin’ and an injustice

    Pope Francis says laws criminalising LGBT people are a ‘sin’ and an injustice

  • Megyn Kelly RIPS Don Lemon Over Kaitlin Collins Fight, Says She Would’ve Had Him FIRED If He ‘Screamed’ At Her

    Megyn Kelly RIPS Don Lemon Over Kaitlin Collins Fight, Says She Would’ve Had Him FIRED If He ‘Screamed’ At Her

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×