Million Marker: Dreadful, Dubious Distinctions

Mental Math, Inestimable: Easy to estimate, hard to imagine. Today we learned (myself via BBC, five hours earlier) that about ten months into the pandemic now, we have just surpassed one million deaths as a world community, directly attributed to COVID-19. Which in turn means that millions more have been diagnosed and have either fully recovered or struggling to do so (with many still suffering the aftermath/sequela of this capricious virus). Another untold number of people, of course, are now walking around amongst us after having been exposed as well. With such round numbers, it's unfortunately easy to do the horrid calculations: 10 months, 1 million...staggering.

The Bad, the Good, the Ugly(?): In the interview with a WHO representative this morning, she resonated the sobering reality (the "bad news") of how quick and aggressive the COVID viral transmission continues to be. Concurrently, she explained the "good news" continues to be how recognizable COVID is upon testing, which in turn allows for more effective therapeutics and mitigation. In harmony with Anthony Fauci, she further reminded us what choices we all have in either stemming the tide of additional cases, or create an environment in which the virus can continue to flourish (the "ugly"?). So, this is far from over but we can all impact on our individual and collective circumstances each and every day by...making good choices!

Patient Zero: "...humanity battling intelligent, adrenaline-fueled creatures born from a viral super-strain..." Too close for comfort?  We find ourselves in the midst of (melo)dramatic events upon which sci-fi. flicks are based--life imitating fiction. Spoiler alert: the foregoing is the trailer from the 2018 pandemic thriller, "Patient Zero". Otherwise, in the context of COVID, Patient Zero (also known as an 'index case') refers to the identity of the person who originated the virus, which many epidemiologists continue to think belongs to a person from Wuhan. If you realized you were PZ would you willingly "turn yourself in", no matter how many assurances you had that we "just want to talk"?

A Million and Counting:  A few months into the pandemic, we became bombarded with statistics regarding diagnosed cases in various regions. Inevitably, we heard of the millionth case officially diagnosed. How would you have felt upon visiting your physician, local clinic, or hospital, if you were greeted with "Congratulations, you are the..." Not what you would want to hear, as opposed to if you were the millionth visitor at a theme park, gaining you free access for a lifetime.  

Patient 91: The 42-year-old Scottish pilot, who was eventually assigned the moniker "Patient 91", spent 68 days on a ventilator -- not in his hometown but in faraway Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh City, with no close friends or family for thousands of miles. He was the sickest case the doctors had experienced early in the pandemic, and it was like the whole country rallied to his cause: "I'm very humbled by how I've been taken into the hearts of the Vietnamese people", shared Cameron following his recovery.

Sustaining Forces: In the midst of continuing uncertainties, one certainty that has been strongly manifested by patients, their families, and their respective health care workers, is that each and every patient's life is worth fighting for, no matter where, when, or how they may have acquired COVID (among a myriad of other diseases). Each recovery is celebrated by the whole staff as if they were their own. The same pertains to the grief they experience and never get used to. This allows all of us a token of comfort, especially in the case of families who have not been able to see their loved ones in a hospital or nursing facility. 

       We can, should, and will continue to come together as one people in celebrating or grieving  each life saved or lost.