Party Time

I once listened to a motivational speech by a cancer patient who was going through chemotherapy and advised, “It’s ok to have a pity party, just don’t invite everyone to it.”  Today just feels “heavy.”  There isn’t one thing that happened to feel more weight than other days.  I think it is just cumulative. I had no idea it was “doctor’s day” until a patient sent me a message wishing me a good one.

I now have three patients that have tested positive for the disease.  I haven’t been around any of them.  One we spoke to on Friday and she ended up going to the ER and was admitted with pneumonia.  She turned around real quick and was actually discharged home before her COVID test came back positive.  Another is in her 80’s and has cancer. Thankfully, she is getting better, but finding the best way for her to be taken care out of the hospital is looking to be a challenge.

We met as a practice via zoom tonight to get an update on setting up the “respiratory clinic.”  That will be ready to go by the end of the week.  It will help take some of the load off of the ER and keep sick people out of our offices to reduce further transmission.  It seems that testing is starting to open up but now we are being told that there are not enough swabs to go around.  This frightens me more than anything.  If we can’t test medium risk individuals I fear that we won’t be able to head off the virus.  We’ll have to continue mass isolation strategies.  It is like doing surgery with a sledge hammer instead of a scalpel.

What keeps me going is the love and support of my wife and family.  My faith keeps me strong and I make sure to spend time in the scriptures everyday.  I also just had to get outside this evening so I jumped on my bike and did my short loop which includes Marshall Road-a nice steady long hill that always takes it out of you.  That may have been my best therapy yet.  Lastly, patient after patient has reached out in gratitude and always ends by saying, “we are praying for you.”  The sustaining strength of those prayers is the best gift I could ever receive on this day set apart to honor physicians.