There's
just one ventilator left. A Dr. looks at me, a 56 year old male with
a familial predisposition for respiratory problems and in the next
bed, a smoking hot 22 year old college girl who also has Covid-19.
Utilitarian triage states that “the needs of the many outweigh the
needs of the few” and so the Dr intubates the girl and then tells
the orderly to wheel my ass out to the Sysco Rent a Freezer truck in
the parking lot to store my ass in until this thing is over.
“But...but
Dr! I'm not dead!” I may weakly say.
“Just
you wait! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
Ok,
black humor aside, covid is a Big Dog with a kill rate of anywheres
from 1-10%. Regular flu barley eeks out 0.1% kill rate. Pussy flu!
**
Strange
times...I've never seen anything like this. Chances are neither have
you unless you were alive for the Spanish flu in 1918. Now that one
liked killing 20 Somethings and left the old ones
alone. Young, healthy immune systems were so powerful, so vigorous,
that they went ballistic attacking anything in the lungs, including
the lungs themselves.
So
four scenarios for me. I get it and up I go to heaven. I get it an
become an invalid for the rest of my days or I get it and walk away
from it w/o so much as a scratch...and finally, I never contract it
to begin with.
I
don't think I get to choose which, only mitigate the odds a little.
What's
struck me now is how every stranger looks carefully at one another. Before hand, I may have glanced at others, barely remembering
them two seconds later. Now, I and they, scan one another for any
signs of sickness. I was in Market Basket the other day and I swear
most were doing that. You look for the kielbasa and suspiciously eye
the women a few feet away from you.
“Who
are you stranger...you look like you might mug me...will you?”
Then
back home with the groceries and washing my hands, wondering of I
touched my face 12 times on that mile and a half ride home.
Even
friends. Today, I was out by the car an M came by. He's busy moving
his trucking business from one location to a newer one and we both
acknowledged each other's health at first. Also, social distancing
was employed! After that, it was down to business...shooting the
breeze about everything.
His
business has or will slow but he opined that I was imminently
employable as I work in healthcare. “They really need you guys
now...more than ever!” he said. “You're still getting a check!”
“Uh...yeah, I guess that's a good thing. Though I'd be three feet away from a cloud of covid viruses should it show up in my place.”
Believe
me, I have no Holy Mission to be on the front lines like the Dr's,
nurses, CNA's or like that. I take no comfort in giving up my
life/health for someone else's...when the else has pretty much lived
theirs out to 80 or 90.
Now
if I were working in pediatrics..that's a different story.
So...what
the hell else can I say about this? Not much. You go day by day with
it and hope for the best. That's Life's First Lesson anyway.
