Mega thread of the great audio clips, quotes, journal articles & test recommendations that came out of @PeteUK7’s space with @drclairetaylor & @Sunny_Rae1. Will add it it as able & hope this will be a valuable resource for people to remember what was discussed:
Last night I stupidly sliced my thumb (really puts a crimp in my tweeting) and it was still bleeding today. I ran through so many options & scenarios for care that I never used to consider. This is what it’s like for high risk folk in a pandemic. A short 🧵 on tough decisions 1/
First of all - it’s a very minor cut and I’m not looking for medical advice. I’ve got a genetic condition & other comorbids that impact my clotting so it’s not unusual for me to bleed more than most. In the before times - if a cut continued to bleed for more than a few hours /2
It would mean a trip to the ER. In the Covid times? I have to consider the severity of the cut, my vitals, my local Covid numbers and ER wait times. If I’m going to wait 12 hours in a crowded ER with people who can’t or won’t mask… odds are good I’m leaving with Covid. /3
In light of yesterday’s Toronto Star article about a doctor charged with sexually assaulting patients being allowed to keep his license - a quick 🧵 on advocacy, imbalance of power between physicians and patients and protecting yourself. Yes I’m angry. thestar.com/news/gta/toron…
Doctors are in a position of power over their patients. In Canada (where I live) wait times are insanely long and ERs are overcrowded. If you require a specialist - especially for a rare/chronic condition - the stress before the appt is real. If you’ve waited a year or more /2
To see a doctor you’ve likely suffered a lot and desperately want the appt to go well. You can’t afford to wait another year if you “don’t like” the doctor. You can’t wait for your preferred gender or your preferred time of day. You are literally at their mercy. /3
Immune compromised, chronically ill folks are NOT ok. We are scared. We are sad. We see people raging against increased mitigations & ignoring impending healthcare collapse and we ache. Our lives have value & being told to just “stay in our homes” isn’t sustainable. 🧵 1/
For the last four years we’ve shielded, we’ve been responsible, we’ve watched our social circles shrink to nothing to keep us from getting Covid & being a drain on healthcare systems. We’ve been told our lives are expendable. We’ve begged society to #MaskUp /2
and lobby for masks in healthcare. We’ve tried to educate on the benefits of cleaning the air. We’ve asked for compassion from our fellow human beings. Now we are seeing posts from doctors that patients can’t be admitted to hospital because it’s not safe. That ambulances are /3
The negative replies on this post have caught me off guard - and made me want to do a thread debunking all the “gotcha” replies the Covid cautious have to regularly endure. First one - “what did you do before Covid if you were vulnerable? Did you mask then?” YES 1/11 🧵
Those of us with compromised immune systems often masked in high risk environments before Covid. We advocate for mandatory masking because the politicization of masks has made it HARDER. No one questioned us before. People were willing to mask if asked. Drs especially. 2/11
Also Covid infections damage the immune system. So while you like to make it sound like us “vulnerable people” are expendable - consider that you are likely vulnerable as well. The only difference? We are aware of it and acting responsibly 3/11