Are Big City Hospitals Really Getting Hit With COVID-19 Pts?

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I'm almost embarrassed to post this... I am an ED nurse at a 450-bed hospital in the midwest. We have not been taxed by COVID patients yet. My wife has become somewhat of a conspiracy theorist and is questioning everything. She found a thread somewhere that convinced her that what we are seeing on TV is not really happening. We have had some serious arguments about this stuff, but she won't stop. She said that lots of nurses were reporting that nothing was happening at their hospitals.

I would like to see if any of the nurses from the hospitals that are being seriously affected are on this forum and can comment. I realize that most of you are probably too exhausted to even get on a forum.

Thank you!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
On 4/15/2020 at 8:31 PM, EPS said:

I didn't intend on upsetting so many people. I have been an ED nurse for 26 years. My wife and I have been arguing every day about this. Something has happened to her that I don't understand. I am being honest. You shouldn't be offended by me... I am one of you. We haven't been hit hard yet, but it still has been miserable being in ppe for most of the shift. I was hoping to get some perspectives to show her. It apparently was a mistake.

For what it is worth, my "rant" was directed entirely towards your wife and the likes of her, not at you at all. I can't speak for others.

And it wasn't a mistake to post - go ahead and show her how enraged and upset people who are experiencing it first hand are at the idea that she thinks it is made up; that might give her some perspective. But likely not.

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Specializes in Perioperative / RN Circulator.
23 hours ago, JadedCPN said:

The level of ignorance in this world just baffles my mind when I hear stuff like this, no offense to you but all offense to your wife and the others thinking like her. How self-centered or narcissistic do you have to be to think that because it isn't happening to you, it isn't happening at all and is a big conspiracy.

Yeah, but if a nurse in Dubuque says they only have 3 Covid-19 patients clearly you’re a liar.

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Specializes in Psych.

I wonder what'll happen in Michigan when there were mass protests in public against the quarantine there yesterday. Do you guys think it'll get worse there because of the protest?

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On 4/14/2020 at 10:41 PM, EPS said:

I'm almost embarrassed to post this... I am an ED nurse at a 450-bed hospital in the midwest. We have not been taxed by COVID patients yet. My wife has become somewhat of a conspiracy theorist and is questioning everything. She found a thread somewhere that convinced her that what we are seeing on TV is not really happening. We have had some serious arguments about this stuff, but she won't stop. She said that lots of nurses were reporting that nothing was happening at their hospitals.

I would like to see if any of the nurses from the hospitals that are being seriously affected are on this forum and can comment. I realize that most of you are probably too exhausted to even get on a forum.

Thank you!

OP- update us, did you show your wife these posts and what was her reaction?

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To the OP-- certainly you must realize that whenever someone says something offensive to another person, following up the offensive statement with "No offense, Dude", the person who is listening IS GOING to be offended. A disclaimer of "no offense intended" doesn't mean that the statement wasn't offensive, or that the recipient can't possibly BE offended because it wasn't intentional.

Now with that said, I have to wonder if showing her these very real, very traumatic messages from real, traumatized people will be enough for her to realize that just because she isn't seeing it, it (OMG!) IS real?

Truly hope so. Because if not, you have to help her; many therapists have taken to online platforms to reach out to those who need their services now.

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And now to answer the question originally asked, I'll answer your question with a question, starting with facts: there are over TWELVE THOUSAND PEOPLE dead in my state, ALL who are linked to COVID-19. Counted in the total are anyone who has tested positive and then dies of whatever the hell the complication is. This number doesn't include the roughly one thousand+ people who have been found dead in their homes, no clear tie to COVID, so not included in the death count that hits the news. But no doubt there's a good percentage of them, too, who would qualify if they had gotten to a hospital.

So I ask you, in my question: How do you suppose TWELVE THOUSAND PEOPLE are going to die (or what, go missing??) and have those of us left alive NOT see this?

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I think that if you're 'almost embarrassed' to post something then you shouldn't post it at all knowing what a difficult time this for all of us, those of us who are struggling to provide care for patients in the middle of a pandemic the likes of which none of us have ever seen before. If your wife believes that this is made-up nonsense it's not up to us as nurses to prove it to her.

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3 minutes ago, sevensonnets said:

I think that if you're 'almost embarrassed' to post something then you shouldn't post it at all knowing what a difficult time this for all of us, those of us who are struggling to provide care for patients in the middle of a pandemic the likes of which none of us have ever seen before. If your wife believes that this is made-up nonsense it's not up to us as nurses to prove it to her.

I considered asking OP to ask her to volunteer in the hardest hit areas so she can get that "I seen it with my own eyes" viewpoint, but....nah.

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1 hour ago, Waiting for Retirement said:

And now to answer the question originally asked, I'll answer your question with a question, starting with facts: there are over TWELVE THOUSAND PEOPLE dead in my state, ALL who are linked to COVID-19. Counted in the total are anyone who has tested positive and then dies of whatever the hell the complication is. This number doesn't include the roughly one thousand+ people who have been found dead in their homes, no clear tie to COVID, so not included in the death count that hits the news. But no doubt there's a good percentage of them, too, who would qualify if they had gotten to a hospital.

So I ask you, in my question: How do you suppose TWELVE THOUSAND PEOPLE are going to die (or what, go missing??) and have those of us left alive NOT see this?

Just bear in mind that there is a good chance this the OP is fiction.

Thousands of first hand reports are a click away for anyone who want to see. Many of them on this forum.

Why would a real nurse with 26 years of experience need a particular thread to convince his wife that reality is real? There are plenty of threads that do that, but none that bring p the belief that this is overblown. What on earth does this thread add to the overwhelming evidence?

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On 4/16/2020 at 2:27 PM, hherrn said:

Just bear in mind that there is a good chance this the OP is fiction.

Thousands of first hand reports are a click away for anyone who want to see. Many of them on this forum.

Why would a real nurse with 26 years of experience need a particular thread to convince his wife that reality is real? There are plenty of threads that do that, but none that bring p the belief that this is overblown. What on earth does this thread add to the overwhelming evidence?

OMG, never occurred to me that this might be a creative writer looking for book material! But you may be on to something.

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Yep, impossible scenarios set up by someone with (new) after the name generally are fiction.

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You're right hherrn, which is probably why most of us are not giving this person the specific details they are after.

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