SARS in Toronto! - page 3

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Hey I just saw on the news that a thousand people have been quarentined at a hospital in Toronto! Do you all know anything about this? I hope our Toronto members are alright. Is this virus... Read More

  1. by sixes
    Mar 30, '03
    this is going to get worse before it gets better. hope my fellow nurses in to are healthy and coping.
    here are more links

    second gta hospital shut
    http:www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0002.html
    disease panic growing
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0004.html
    hotlines flooded
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontnonews/ts.ts-03-29-0035.html
    this one upset me very much
    yankee's have 'new friend' in virus
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0036.html
    ailing flyers urged to stay
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0037.html
    asian stores bitten
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0043.html
    asian cases sore
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-29-0045.html
    isolation 2 buffalo players
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0005.html
    sars evolving:experts
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0006.html
    lending hand
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0007.html
    treating people gets scary too
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0009.html
    patient zero
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0024.html
    to's trail of disease
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0026.html
    chinese stores hit hard by fears
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0027.html
    drs. harder to see
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-30-0028.html

    sorry there are so many i've labeled them so you could pick and chose which you want to review
    i hope everyone is well
  2. by ainitfunny
    Mar 30, '03
    This might be something to consider if you are pregnant.

    Women risk deformed babies from SARS TREATMENT!

    quote:
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The South China Morning Post reported on Sunday that Hong Kong doctors had warned women treated for SARS that they should not try to conceive for the next six months as any foetus could be deformed.

    Ribavirin, one of the drugs used to treat the illness, could have side effects on foetuses under 16 weeks and the risk was reduced only after the 28th week of pregnancy, they said.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissi...143&sid=1730157

    more discussion at this forum: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...threadid=64513
  3. by sixes
    Mar 31, '03
    ontario nurses "pretty stressed"
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-31-0005.html
    fourth victim dies
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-31-0004.html
    sick kids cut back access
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-31-0024.html
    isolated and bored
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-30-31-0025.html
    new brunswick principal suspected case
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-31-0026.html
    plenty of masks
    http://www.canoe.ca/torontonews/ts.ts-03-31-0027.html

    cdc pretends to have everything under control.(lol) if they could stick to one story prehaps it could be believed.
    first they say it is only spread through direct contact. oops prehaps it is airborne. o by the way no one panic we have itunder control
  4. by passing thru
    Apr 1, '03
    This reminds me of when AIDS was first diagnosed & there were doctors and nurses who refused to go near the patients.
    And a thread here about terrorist spraying of smallpox or botulism, etc. Nearly everyone said they would respond to the medical communitys calls for nurses to come to the hospital and help with the victims, re: "decontaminating them."
    I was one of the ones who said I wasn't going...and was I ever fflamed !

    Wendy, I'd get out my credit cards and stay home --quit the job-- if I was scared of it. And , right now, I'm scared of it.
    You may wind up staying home & living on credit cards for a couple of months.

    Or go to work, gown up, etc. and take a big bottle of clorox.
    From what I am reading, the causative agent "could" be infectious on doorKnobs and elevator buttons for up to 3-6 hours. No way you can sterilize every thing in the hospitall.
    What do you think? Why not call in sick for a couple-three days til you get more info about it. Are the docs going in to see the patients? If they are actually at the bedside, I'd probably go in.
    If they are calling from home for labs, status reports, >>>I'd stay home too.
  5. by ainitfunny
    Apr 1, '03
    Read for yourself, I will not "editorialize".
    http://www.newsday.com/news/health/n...alth-headlines
  6. by emily_mom
    Apr 1, '03
    Originally posted by BadBird
    Holy Cow, I just came home from spending 3 days in Niagra Falls, Ontario, I sure hope no one in the casinos was infected!!! Geeze it was bad enough we lost a grand but that is just too much to think about!!! Wendy, It is time for you to just say NO, you were not happy on the day shift anyway, and since you are back in school and planning on finding a new job when you graduate it might be time to just stay home for awhile. Hopefully you will stay safe and we can catch up in the chat room. Take care.

    Don't say that! I will be there in 5 weeks!
  7. by hapeewendy
    Apr 2, '03
    guys I am sitting here in my N95 mask right now , almost hypoxic and feeling lightheaded
    I'm living this SARS thing ..and its not fun..
    very scary, we go in through a specific area, half the staff I work with are sent to the SARS unit our hospital was MANDATED by the government to create while half of us try to struggle with our patient loads on our unit . Thankfully I didnt have to go to the SARS unit because of my immune status , however I believe that the people working on the SARS unit are potentially safer ......why?
    because they have had the proper masks gowns etc from day one while we have not. they KNOW they are dealing with SARS patients, while we deal with the unknown, and they are fully decontaminated when they are ready to leave, change of gown gloves mask uniform the whole nine yards
    I dont know what to believe ,but I can tell you , that I'm not loving work right now
    yet I come because a. Many nurses are already off with suspected SARS or on home quarantine, and b.my staying home , at this point, does not decrease my risk , why? because I have gone four courses at another hospital (also with confirmed cases of SARS), and the CDC is not even sure HOW this virus is spread ... it may very well live on surfaces etc for hours..
    I will come to work, take all the precautions that I have to , and hope and pray that this thing ENDS SOON
    we have had 2 more SARS deaths here as of yesterday, please say a prayer for EVERYONE
    I know I am..
  8. by sixes
    Apr 2, '03
    Wendy my hopes and prayers are with you and all nurses and health staff working through this. I hope you remain well.
    I am not currently working,so I can't say first hand what you are all going through.
    My stress level is up so I can't imagine how you feel.
    Hopefully you will get answers sooner than later.

    Here are somemore links
    SARS takes toll on kids
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-01-0003.html
    Passengers land in masks,gloves
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-01-0004.html
    194 York students face quarantine
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-01-0005.html
    Stupid or Safe
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-01-0009.html
    2 more deaths in TO
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-02-0002.html
    Virus Trail
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-02-0003.html
    Toronto Disease Expert Isolated
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-02-0004.html
    Hospital keeps it simple
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-02-0006.html
    Flight staff nix Asia
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-04-02-0007.html
    Fighting Flu Fever Fear
    http://ww.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-02-04-0008.html
    Jail break eyed
    http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-02-04-0057.html
    Disease panic spread in Asia
    http://ww.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-02-04-0060.html
  9. by Little One2
    Apr 2, '03
    Update:

    -the main doctor doing research is under quarantee
    -there is a hiring freeze
    -nurses can either work in the community or in the hospital ( cant have both jobs - either work in the hospital or in the community)
    -heard the courses held at hospitals are cancelled indefinitly
    -looks like its going to be months before things settle down
  10. by JMP
    Apr 2, '03
    I work in ICU. I work in an Ontario hospital, about 2 hours from Toronto.

    I think we need to keep our heads. I think people that post telling people to "stay home" and "refuse to go in" or to "quit" are being irresponsbile.

    We need to take precautions, yes. We also need to focus on our professional responsiblity.

    In my opinion, nurses of complain of not being taken seriously. Other nurses complain that we are not seen as professionals....well, with that in mind, would people be posting and telling docs to stay home or to quit their jobs?

    I think all of us knew when we got involved in health care that certain risks apply. Certainly in critical care areas, like the one I work in, are at high risk for numerous things.

    Don't misunderstand me. A healthy respect for SARS is in order. Right now we are required to work in FULL garb- face mask, goggles, gloves and gowns..... for our full 12 hour shift.

    Let's keep our collective PROFESSIONAL heads about us.
  11. by hapeewendy
    Apr 2, '03
    while I agree that we shouldnt be paranoid and run around stocking up on canned goods and bottled water etc
    I *DO* see a need for concern
    not to acknowledge that healthy people have gotten seriously ill, and died from SARS is an injustice and gives a false sense of security to the public and professionals..
    so yes, I'm all about the professionalism at work ,do not get any patients riled up, ease their fears....
    yet when I come home, out of nurse mode if you will, I think about the fact that I have to go through a special entrance at work, cannot go without a gown, gloves, mask and goggles for my 12 hour shifts and each day brings new SARS cases and unfortunately death from SARS , and I realize that I am at risk ,as are many others, for me to have no anxiety or apprehension, in my opinion would make me abnormal.
    its a fine line between ignorance and hysteria
    I dont think that it makes nurses less professional to be exhibiting normal signs of anxiety and distress
    for me, SARS isnt some mystery illness that I'm reading about or hearing people talk about ,its around me daily .......
    I know people in quarantine
    half my co workers are working directly with SARS patients
    all my courses for my BSCN course have been cancelled which leaves us in a quandry about our exams and presentations
    and I'm dealing with patients who are either scared beyond belief OR distraught that their loved ones cannot visit them.......
  12. by JMP
    Apr 2, '03
    Wendy

    The CNA exam ( American equivilant of CCRN ) was cancelled. I was to write it this Saturday. It has been postponed until a later date- TBA.

    I have studied for the last three months for it.

    SARS is impacting everyone, some more than others. I too just finished a 12 hour shift in gowns-gloves-mask and goggles. I too had to leave hospital one way- exited another. It is different to talk about on a personal level.

    I was reacting to posts that where advising you to not go in- to quit-which is everyone's choice- HOWEVER- my professional belief is that we would be unprofessional and not responsible to do that. And to post this type of advice, I felt showed poor judgement.

    These are difficult times and yesterday when I got home from work, my stress level was up.(way up) We need to acknowledge that- that was not my point.

    Take care Wendy.
    Last edit by JMP on Apr 2, '03
  13. by eltrip
    Apr 2, '03
    Wendy, JMP, & the rest of my "neighbors to the North:"

    Just thinking of & praying for you guys. I can't imagine what you must be going through right now. Glad that you are safe.

    This is indeed scary stuff. Thank you for keeping the rest of us informed.

    All the best,
    Joy

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