HOUSTON (Reuters) – Shortly after midnight, Duc Nguyen sat on his hospital bed for a video call with his wife. The brightness of a television and a lamp post outside its window provided the only light, since a nasal cannula supplied oxygen to his lungs.
It wasn’t like the 33-year-old man had imagined welcoming him in the new year, but he said he was grateful that the United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) in Houston had an empty bed so he could be treated for pneumonia caused by COVID- 19
Nguyen said he was confident he would recover, but predicted that the worst days of the pandemic were ahead.
“We will have another treat next year,” he said hoarsely. “Not over yet.”
Similar scenes were occurring across the country when a wave of post-Thanksgiving infections increased the number of patients forced to open only in 2021, confined to a hospital room by a virus that claimed more than 342,000 Americans.
Located in a working-class area north of Houston, the UMMC has been hit hard by the waves of cases that hit Texas during the summer and fall, taking a heavy physical and emotional toll on nurses like Tanna Ingraham, who has overcome two episodes of COVID-19.
In normal times, Ingraham could have played in the new year to share drinks with friends. Instead, she was still dealing with the sudden death this week of a patient who had just been removed from a respirator amid signs that she was recovering.
Like her, the patient was 43 years old and Ingraham stifled tears by taking the tubes out of her body and putting her in a corpse bag – a task she got used to this year. For Ingraham, 2021 and widespread vaccination cannot come soon.
“I only hope that at the end of this there will be a light because, honestly, it is the only thing that keeps me going. That and my faith, ”she said. “So, 2021 I’m ready.”
This week, Reuters accompanied doctors and nurses as they made their rounds at the UMMC’s COVID-19 unit, stopping to check vital signs and sometimes offering a hug or holding a hand. Touch, Ingraham said he learned from his own battles with the disease, is critical to ward off a sense of despair.
TENSED ATMOSPHERE
A hand-made plaque marks the number of days – 287 – that the team has been working since the pandemic arrived in Texas in the spring. Mexican and American flags hang on the walls, a tribute to the many medical students from Mexico who came to help and learn. A Christmas tree and festive decorations make up for a tense atmosphere amid concerns of a sudden increase.
On Thursday, Texas set a new record for hospitalizations for COVID-19, with 12,268 patients in hospitals across the state, rising further above the previous peak in July, according to data from the Texas Department of Health. A team from the University of Washington, whose model was used by the White House, projects that hospitalizations in the state will peak on Jan. 9.
Dr. David Persse, a health authority in the Houston Department of Health, fears that infections will accelerate in January and February, as cases arising from the Christmas and New Year celebrations materialize. Another concern is the possible spread of a highly infectious coronavirus variant discovered in Britain, he said.
“It is a major concern,” said Persse. “We are all getting ready to see if that happens.”
Dr. Joseph Varon, the hospital’s medical director, spoke quickly on Thursday afternoon while putting on personal protective equipment. It was his 287th consecutive day of work and two more patients with COVID-19 died the night before.
“We have patients until the wazoo. The wards are full. My nurses are exhausted. Emotions are everywhere. People are dying, ”said Varon, who attracted national attention in November after a photo of him hugging a COVID-19 patient went viral.
“My hope for 2021 is that people will be a little more conscientious,” he said, referring to the use of masks and social distance. “Let them understand that by wearing your mask, you are protecting someone else.”
Terry Peden, a 57-year-old electrical engineer, came to the COVID-19 unit in Varon after being told by another hospital that he should stay home and face his illness, which progressed from a COVID-19 diagnosis to dual pneumonia.
Peden said he was just happy to be alive and happy to receive the New Year by calling his son and daughter from their hospital bed.
“I would love to be home, but everyone would be too,” said Peden. “I will be happy when 2020 is over. It was a damned year for the whole world. “
Callaghan O’Hare reporting in Houston; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Goodman