Thank you, twenty one pilots, from an emergency medicine physician.
John and the kids at a twenty one pilots concert last year.
I have been feeling beat down and worn out in the emergency department. Not enough beds. Not enough nurses. Not enough lab techs. Just one physician in the emergency department, all day, every day.
And I’ve just been tired.
Today it was busy, but I only saw a few COVID patients. And just one had to be admitted. Few patients were really sick. The ER was full, and I was hustling all day, but my optimism felt like it might be returning.
My 12-hour shift was almost finished when I was called for an emergency intubation in the ICU. A COVID-19 positive patient was crashing.
I gowned and gloved and masked myself and ran up two flights of stairs to the ICU. My patient was old and frail and scared. I talked to my patient calmly, and they settled a lot before the sedative medicines kicked in. I intubated without a problem. I thanked the nurses and respiratory therapist and removed my gown and gloves and masks.
I made my way back downstairs feeling worn out again. When is this going to end?
A few minutes later, my shift was done, and I was climbing into my truck. The radio’s Bluetooth automatically began playing music from my phone. The song was Level of Concern by Twenty One Pilots.
I let the song replay over and over while driving home.
“The world has gone insane.
Thing are starting to get heavy.
And you could bring down my level of concern.
Just tell me we’re alright.
Tell me we’re okay.”
My mood lightened.
I felt encouraged.
I’m not the only one doing this.
We are going to get through this.
I pulled up to my house and sat in the driveway for a minute. I did a quick search and found this from TOP’s lead singer, Tyler Joseph, referring to their band’s mission:
“I just want to remind you what I'm fighting for: your mental health is more important today than it ever has been. You're not alone."
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