Dr. Muzoora: The Toll of Isolation and the Importance of Vaccination
As a pulmonologist working in the COVID-19 Critical Care Unit since the beginning of the pandemic at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Dr. Michael Muzoora has watched patients struggle physically and emotionally while in isolation in the hospital. Dr. Muzoora has cared for patients for weeks, trying everything there is to try, only to watch them lose the fight. Read his words on the toll this takes not only on patients, but also on healthcare workers.
The Mental and Emotional Toll
“Being in the hospital with COVID, being in the ICU it takes a toll on you, as a patient, it takes a toll on the family. Most all of our patients will have to be in a form of isolation. And human beings, as social beings, don’t like to be isolated. So the idea of being in a room for your safety and for others’ safety by yourself, that definitely takes a toll on a patient.
The Physical Struggle
But it’s also, not mentally, but dealing with the physical and difficult part of the ailment—having to go through the disease process. So it’s certainly something that weighs down the patient quite heavily, from both a physical standpoint and an emotional standpoint.
The Impact on Healthcare Workers
Another part is how hard it is to care for someone for 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks, and watch them lose the fight against this disease after you have tried everything that there is to try and still lose the fight. And those stories do actually stick with you as a doctor.
The Importance of Vaccination
Right now, as the infection rates creep up, we are beginning to see even people at a much younger age than we have seen before who are having quite severe illness, which is slightly different from what we were seeing before. So, I would say the most effective control for viral outbreaks is vaccination, and right now, what we know the best intervention against COVID-19 is the vaccine.
