Harlem VI

Tonight, I spoke with my son while he was on the way to the first of his 3 night shifts. He is currently working 3 day shifts, then 3 night shifts, then one day off. They would like him to work seven days a week, but he has told them that is simply too much. As it is, he is working 72 hours a week.

The hospital continues to get fewer COVID patients, and the patients who are coming in seem to be more of what the ED is used to from before all of this madness. They are waiting for the next spike that will happen as the economy reopens, and are hoping that round two will not be as bad.

Tonight we discussed some of the things that are happening around the country, and the subject came around to the possible treatment option of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. He said that the hospital where he was had begun trying that treatment about two weeks ago, but it didn't appear to be working very well. After a week they had to stop trying it because they were out of azithromycin.

Right now all they can do is support the patient as best they can while waiting for their immune system to either win or lose the fight.

I asked him what he thought about all of the rumors from the left and right about this being some sort of profit driven conspiracy, and that the disease was no worse than the flu. His reply was: "If you can point me to a strain of the flu that causes renal failure, coagulopathies, hepatic failure, and oxygen saturations of 75% in otherwise healthy 28 year olds, I would like to see it." He went on to say how many friends he is willing to write off for thinking that he would ever kill someone because a hospital wanted to make some extra money. He has already stopped speaking to six or seven people for accusing him of that.

The rest of the conversation was personal stuff, how he was handling his first time in NYC, that sort of thing, then he was off to work. He still hasn't decided whether or not he will be taking that 3 week extension to his contract. He expects to know by Wednesday.