As California hospitals prepared this week for a sudden increase in COVID-19 patients who were infected at Christmas, officials told painful stories about the last moments of death with their families.
“One of the most moving conversations that our healthcare professionals share is about those last words, when children apologize to their parents and grandparents for bringing COVID home for making them sick. And those excuses are just some of the last words that loved ones will hear when they die alone, ”said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. “Please, for your loved ones, stay home. Stay safe. Keep your loved ones alive. ”
Authorities believe the current increase was driven in part by family gatherings around Thanksgiving and Christmas that allowed young people, who were more likely to be away from home, to spread COVID-19 to their elders. , who otherwise tended to stay at home.
“The situation is more dire than ever, so I will share some stories from our local hospitals,” said Solis. “To die of COVID in the hospital means to die alone. Visitors are not allowed in hospitals for their own safety. Families are sharing their last goodbyes on tablets and cell phones. “
Dr. Mark Lepore, a physician in the intensive care unit at Ventura County Medical Center, said last week that many families are bringing their critically ill loved ones to the hospital too late.
“They are concerned that when they go, they will not make it out alive,” said Lepore.
Lepore said he was forced to have tough conversations with critically ill patients when they arrive, explaining the treatment they can receive to keep them alive, how to turn them face down to make breathing easier and administer pressurized oxygen through a mask when their blood oxygen levels drop a lot.
But if that doesn’t work, Lepore said, he asked patients if they want to be placed on a ventilator – which involves inserting a tube into their windpipe connected to a machine to help them breathe and be sedated – or if they wanted to instead, they simply feel comfortable while they die.
The chance of surviving COVID-19 when the patient is placed on a ventilator is between 20% and 60%. The discussion is difficult, said Lepore. “And if it gets to the point where, after putting it in a breathing machine that your heart stops, we wouldn’t do CPR because it wouldn’t work – because the disease will have consolidated,” said Lepore. .
Lepore said it is critical that people seek medical attention if they are short of breath. “Even if the hospitals are full, you have to seek care or call your doctor,” he said. People can buy a device called a pulse oximeter to monitor their blood oxygen levels, and if the level is less than 90%, that means you should call the emergency department, said Lepore.
“The longer you wait for this disease, the less chance we have to give you some of the therapies that can help you get over it,” he added.
A doctor at a public hospital in Los Angeles County said families who are unable to attend their dying loved ones are being devastated.
Working in the ICU, where there is little that caregivers can do to save extremely sick patients, the doctor said he heard “families crying on the phone, in agony because their loved one is dying. … The way most people go out is to die. We spend our days calling families to let them know that their loved one has exhausted all medical treatment and will die, despite our best efforts. “
Solis noted that more than 200 people in LA County died of COVID-19 daily, and hospitals were about to have to ration care, where doctors would choose which patients would receive treatment and which would not.
Because of staffing problems, a private hospital in LA County on Monday declared an internal disaster, which means the hospital is so crowded that the emergency room is closed to all incoming ambulances, according to the Director. County Health Services, Dr. Christina Ghaly.
The coronavirus is so widespread that throughout southern California, at least one in five people being tested for the virus, or about 15,000 a day, are testing positive.
LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer asked the public on Monday to stay home as long as possible. As she left home to access essential services, she asked people to bring hygienic wipes so they could clean their phones, keys, workstations and door handles – anything they touched and others touched.
Ferrer also issued a new recommendation that people who need to leave – and live in a home with an elderly person or someone with underlying health problems – start wearing masks at home to protect them.
“As there is so much diffusion, we also recommend that people maintain facial coverage while they are indoors,” said Ferrer. For those who work outside or are the person who performs essential tasks in the family, wearing a mask at home “will only add a layer of protection as we go through the wave”.
People should also make sure that frequently touched surfaces are cleaned, utensils are not shared and, if possible, that rooms and bathrooms are not shared with the most vulnerable.
“This is the time to be extremely cautious and very careful. We cannot lighten our efforts just yet – not now, and not in the coming weeks. Every minute, 10 people in LA County, on average, test positive for COVID-19, ”said Ferrer.
Ferrer reiterated that infected people can transmit the virus to others for two days or more before showing any symptoms. At least 10% to 12% of people infected with the virus are hospitalized and more than 1% of people diagnosed with the virus end up dying, said Ferrer.
“The damaging impact for our families and local hospitals of this increase is the worst disaster that our county has experienced in decades,” said Ferrer.
Ferrer said authorities have done a lot in the past few months to try to control the virus – banning meetings, inspecting workplaces, imposing fines. “But it has been insufficient, because the biggest factor in all of this comes down to individuals taking appropriate action,” said Ferrer. “We need to make sure that everyone survives to benefit from the vaccine.”
“Now is not the time to meet friends at your home to watch the game. It’s not time to go for a walk without covering your face. One mistake is enough and soon five, 10 or 20 other people will be infected, ”said Ferrer. “The most important way to stop it is to avoid interactions with other people and to protect us all the time.”