A Letter from an ER Doctor's Wife

 

Dear fellow member of the Human Race,

Imagine being an airline pilot. You are flying people all over the world without any issues. No one is questioning your maneuvers or choices unless they are fellow pilots. Your customers trust you. You did the training. You know what you are doing. So they willingly get in your plane and let you fly them. They put their life in your hands.

I liken that to how my husband feels right now. I don't brag on him often, but I'm going to for a second. He went to one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world. He was selected from an incredibly small applicant pool (less than half a percent) and joined four dozen other individuals at the Mayo Clinic.

I spent four years of my life with these absolutely brilliant minds. We were friends. We were family.

Pharmaceutical Representatives were not even allowed on the campus of Mayo. Ever. These medical students were the leaders of their generation and were going into various forms of medicine with the intent to help people. My husband's credentials go even beyond that. He has a fellowship in Wilderness Medicine and has, because of simply a personal interest, has studied pandemics and medicine for the "unique times."

As a result of my husband's career choice, many of our friends are medical people. They are staunch pro-choice democrats and incredibly conservative pro-life conservatives. They are libertarians. They are Christians and Atheists. Some are not even Americans. But right now, nearly 99.9% of them are in complete agreement about this pandemic swirling around us.

Let me restate that: every single M.D. or D.O. we personally know is in agreement on COVID-19 and its serious implications. 

I'll go beyond that: every nurse and nurse practitioner and PhD I know is in agreement about this virus.

While freedoms and vaccines and politics may be part of that discussion, when it all boils down, their chief concern is how to currently save lives. They are trying to make sure that this pandemic doesn't get out of control.

This isn't about just saving COVID patients. This is about having a bed in the hospital when you bring your child or self in for a separate emergency.

About a month ago, my husband and I made the decision together to step away from discussions on this topic. It was causing him too much stress and he was being physically affected by the stress of work and being a community voice. He was physically affected by this pandemic and his attempt to manage it as the director of his ER.

But I had to make these statements here. The thoughts were keeping me up at night. I truly wish everyone would stop thinking they are a pilot. The fact that you have "researched diseases on the Internet" for years does NOT change the facts: you have agreed to let my husband pilot the plane. When you get in a car accident, you have your loved one taken to the hospital to see him. You willingly put medicine that he tells you is good for you into your body to help fight diseases.

No matter what you think, the fact that this pandemic currently has ALL medical people (99.9%) in complete agreement means something. There are certain things that they do not agree on. (Birth control, abortion, end of life care, etc.) But on this topic, they are in agreement.

Could you possibly consider letting them pilot the plane and not second-guessing every single decision they are making?

Thank you.

From a loving wife of an Emergency Room Physician,

 

P.S. I've had a few people ask WHAT it is these doctors agree on. They agree that this is a pandemic. That this virus could reak havoc and that we all must work together to keep our hospitals from being overrun. That is what we are all working toward: making sure we can medically handle the virus. They also agree that they are learning new things everyday. There is no "for sure" course here. Right now: wear your mask and try to limit gatherings. It has to be done for the greater good. Be wise.