COVID-19: Putting the Disruptions in our Lives in Perspective

As an ICU doctor, it’s all about the graph below

My local high school has canceled classes. My daughter’s college will go to virtual classes until at least the first week of April. My place of worship has canceled religious services, and I told my father to skip them as well. I changed my schedule so I can attend a PTO fundraiser…until it was cancelled. We are preparing that our younger children’s school will also close and stay closed for a while.

The NCAA has cancelled March madness. The NBA has suspended its season. Several meetings have been cancelled in my own hospital, and we are working very hard on planning what to do in case a COVID-19 patient shows up. We have set up a tent outside of our ER. It is likely going to get much worse before it gets better.

I really understand why all this is happening, why authorities are canceling large events. It is really important that they do so.

It is a scary time right now. I share that fear, as well. I am a Critical Care physician, and I will be right in the line of fire if patients start showing up to our hospital with COVID-19. We are learning all that we can about the virus and what it does. We are…