You Think Coronavirus Is Scary? This ICU Nurse’s Viral Post Shows It’s Worse Than You Imagine
432,132 confirmed cases and nearly 1,300 deaths in the US alone is a tragic count. But numbers are just a piece of data. And while we’re all aware of the tragedy’s scope, the reality can only be brought to us by the people who’re closest to the affected patients.
The nurse Aleixandrea Macias has been working in a makeshift ICU for days now. In her viral post, she recounted all the most horrifying details of what the coronavirus frontline is really like. “No one has left our unit yet except in a body bag.” Aleixandrea’s post has left everyone speechless and it’s a must-read for anyone who’s still dubious about the greatest crisis in current history.
The nurse Aleixandrea Macias shared the horrifying details of what it’s really like working in the intensive care unit
Image credits: Aleixandrea Macias
Image credits: Aleixandrea Macias
The US currently remains on top of the world table for the most confirmed cases, with 432,438 in total. More than 14,700 Covid-positive patients have died in the country. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported that there were a staggering 779 coronavirus deaths across the state on Tuesday. It’s now the highest number of daily fatalities to date.
According to the American Hospital Association, the country has around 924,000 hospital beds but only 98,000 of them could be used to treat patients in intensive care. But medics could never have been prepared for a crisis of such scope.
The stress is overwhelming, and many front-line workers are keeping themselves away from family members amid fears of passing on the virus. One ER nurse working in New York City told BBC: “We’re so stressed, we’re clinging on to the little things that we have, which is food delivery, which is, you know, laughing as much as we can, sharing the memes on the internet.”
And people praised the nurse for her sacrifice
We see death and people being murdered everyday on television. Even on reality tv..like the First 48. And during those deaths, phones are left ringing, families are notified...but there is always someone responsible for this tragedy. Someone the police hunt down in order to see justice done. Covid-19 has massive victims and seemingly no one to hunt down, no one to make sense of why this person is dead, no way for the family to feel anything but grief and anger...but there is someone to blame. Ignoring the health officials advice at this stage of the pandemic is tantamount to waving a loaded gun in a crowded room. It's dangerous, it's selfish, and you could end up murdering someone in the process. STAY HOME!!!
I don't believe that any government in the world is being honest about any figures, either deaths or infected. Been told today that a very dear friend working frontline has been instructed, yes, instructed, to share face masks with colleagues. Seems our leaders aren't much good at leading. No wonder no-one is listening to them.
No government has correct figures. We simply don't know. Several models suggest that you need to take the known number times ten. Just as an estimate. Next year, wehn this is all over, we'll have a better idea about how mayn people died. But for now we just know it's many.
Load More Replies...Yep. That's an ugly death. Never saw a pretty one, myself, but yes, these are ... bad. And I'm back on shift in 90 minutes to help negotiate between families who demand visiting rights and medical personnel trying to keep them safe... If you end up sick or a loved one does? PLease. This si so hard on everyone already, even thepeople in registration... Be kind. Stay calm. Stay *home*. Sign me... breakning heart every day.
Thank you for being a superhero. There isn't enough love and thanks for your work in this horrible time. Please be sure to self care every opportunity you can, even if it's just looking out a window at nature and taking a breath.
Load More Replies...I’ve been there! Intubated and the possibility of death for days! I was very fortunate. I had the best nursing care in the world! The nurses saved me! They would sit and talk to my wife and daughter every night ... giving them what comfort they could! This is what U are doing ... and U are a Godsend!
Being the caretaker is already hard enough, but these people are doing brutal marathons of care. Nursing already has one of the highest burnout rates, and they need our support now more than ever. "Who cares for the caretakers?" The answer is: we all do. Help them, thank them, fight for them, and hold them when they need to be held. Please.
There's no money in the world that could repay these people... and once this is finished, they will need a lot of help from everyone to deal with the emotional scars that this pandemic will do to them. This is not what they signed up for. I can only imagine the internal pain they are suffering ... lots and lots of hugs to all the ER and medical workers. We love you.
Her account of the personal hardships, her aspiration, and the suffering of the people on ventilation is hard to endure. Yet for the crisis, annectdotal report do nothing positive. Moreover, what she is reporting partly is owed to downscaling / low finances for hospitals in the past and partly "normal" ICU life, where nurses and doctors battle for lives every day, and people die tragically every day. I know I will get downvotes for this, but we need facts, and scientific assessment. Healthcare workers do a tremendous job and there must be a time to honour them. Their job, however, is neither crisis management in the larger scale nor epidemilogy. Leave this to the experts!
She's not saying anything about epidemiology. But the evidence is clear: not flattening the curve leads the above. That's not panic, it's fact, and it is backed up by evidence. It's not just 'downscaling' that causes hospitals to be overwhelmed. It's literally what happens in a pandemic. There are examples in history that back this up. The US is on 400,000 and climbing. And yeah, people die tragically every day. Cancer, car accidents, shootings. The difference is, you can't give cancer to a fellow human being. You can't spread a car accident to your grandparents by not practicing social distancing... These Corona deaths are preventable with social distancing, etc. This is the real tragedy. If accounts like this stop people from going out and help people self-isolate, then they are not contributing to 'panic' but doing literally a life saving service to the global community. "We need facts" -- we have facts with the amounts of cases. We're already at millions infected worldwide.
Load More Replies...You are my hero. Sending you energy, strength, and that ray of light you want to be.
My heart goes out to you. I can not imagine what you are going thru. I'm 77 years old and live on Vancouver island. I can only hope that if the virus gets me,and I am conscience of that. I will go to the beach and look out at the ocean. I don't want to go to the hospital. I'll have a sign that says dead of covid -19. These nurses,doctors and other hospital staff work their butt off. One less person for them to see die in their care may help, just a little.
My child dear Aleixandrea You are a hero no doubt and we are proud of you and hats off to your service. Please take care of yourself too. God bless you and your family and will take care. ALL OUR BLESSINGS TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY. Regards from Uncle
Wtf... this also sounds ridiculously sensationalist. "Everyone is leaving in death bags"... a lot of people is leaving healthy and cured. Don't be so fatalist. You're just injecting more fear in the situation
Very few COVID-19 leave the ICU healthy. When it has progressed to that point they nearly always die. That is her reality. Granted, most cases don't go to ICU, and yes most people recover but to work in an ICU with this disease is to see death.
Load More Replies...This scenario is taking place in multiple places throughout our nation. It's heartbreaking to read and I cannot even begin to imagine the pain these people are experiencing seeing it up close and personal, we all owe first responders and medical personnel a debt of gratitude. Thank you so much for being there in people's time of need.
I just wish I could suck all of this negativeness, this coronavirus, this whole shebang. I wish I could just deposit it all in me. I know it is not possible. And that I would kill myself in the effort. But I would give my life a million times over if it meant this whole mess would have never happened.
Holy cow, people. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Here's why: 1. The "deadly" Corona virus is equivalent to a BAD FLU SEASON. 2. The total number of deaths worldwide is 108K. Every day, 150K die from other causes including 25K from hunger. :( 3. The death rate for the Corona virus is 1.38%, and most of the people who die from it have an underlying, preexisting health condition. 4. Almost 4 times as many people have recovered from the Corona virus as have died from it. 5. You are worshiping the doctors and nurses who have simply gone to work everyday and done their job, yet teachers, who have to figure out a way to teach students online and sacrifice most of their free time to helping students are not acknowledged any more than usual. 6. Masks do not prevent you from getting the Corona virus, they only prevent you from spreading it if you already have it. 7. All these people who do not get dressed/wear clean clothes/change clothes are repulsive. 8. In my state (North Dakota) alone, there are 15.33 times more recoveries! (14 April 2020)
There are nurses who are unable to put up with this, they break down, some of them quit. Mostly because they have no protective gears. Sometimes they are sent among COVID patients without even a makeshift mask. And they are called weak, cowards, etc. by SJW-s who sit at home in their comfortable quarantine and beat their keyboards judging them. Give respect to nurses, give respect to all those people who work out there, raise their salaries, ensure that they get masks and everything they would need in order to stay safe. None of them can be obliged to sacrifice their own lives. And if you are unhappy with their work, well, then raise your a*s and youare welcome to do their jobs. Otherwise shut the f**k up.
More doom porn. The Chinese flu is just another strain. Deaths from it here are approximating a normal flu season. Hospitals across the country are laying off nurse because there are no patients.
I know this is sad and I feel sorry, but I don't understand how comes that? Here in Czech Republic so far 106 845 tests, 5335 of them positive, 104 deaths. Many of them were old, ill before and had comorbidities.. every death is sad, but in global this is not disaster. Car accidents caused more deaths...
This is not disaster?!? Well, greetings from Spain. Just hope you don't see it escalating as here, because the "it only affects to old people" song is getting old. It kills young and healthy people too.
Load More Replies...BCG vaccination is believed to give some resistance against Corona. Any attempts are being made to try this in the worst affected areas of US or Europe?
Hey Vanities, how's about you go hang out in an icu for a while. Get some plague. Prove just how tough you are.
Load More Replies...We see death and people being murdered everyday on television. Even on reality tv..like the First 48. And during those deaths, phones are left ringing, families are notified...but there is always someone responsible for this tragedy. Someone the police hunt down in order to see justice done. Covid-19 has massive victims and seemingly no one to hunt down, no one to make sense of why this person is dead, no way for the family to feel anything but grief and anger...but there is someone to blame. Ignoring the health officials advice at this stage of the pandemic is tantamount to waving a loaded gun in a crowded room. It's dangerous, it's selfish, and you could end up murdering someone in the process. STAY HOME!!!
I don't believe that any government in the world is being honest about any figures, either deaths or infected. Been told today that a very dear friend working frontline has been instructed, yes, instructed, to share face masks with colleagues. Seems our leaders aren't much good at leading. No wonder no-one is listening to them.
No government has correct figures. We simply don't know. Several models suggest that you need to take the known number times ten. Just as an estimate. Next year, wehn this is all over, we'll have a better idea about how mayn people died. But for now we just know it's many.
Load More Replies...Yep. That's an ugly death. Never saw a pretty one, myself, but yes, these are ... bad. And I'm back on shift in 90 minutes to help negotiate between families who demand visiting rights and medical personnel trying to keep them safe... If you end up sick or a loved one does? PLease. This si so hard on everyone already, even thepeople in registration... Be kind. Stay calm. Stay *home*. Sign me... breakning heart every day.
Thank you for being a superhero. There isn't enough love and thanks for your work in this horrible time. Please be sure to self care every opportunity you can, even if it's just looking out a window at nature and taking a breath.
Load More Replies...I’ve been there! Intubated and the possibility of death for days! I was very fortunate. I had the best nursing care in the world! The nurses saved me! They would sit and talk to my wife and daughter every night ... giving them what comfort they could! This is what U are doing ... and U are a Godsend!
Being the caretaker is already hard enough, but these people are doing brutal marathons of care. Nursing already has one of the highest burnout rates, and they need our support now more than ever. "Who cares for the caretakers?" The answer is: we all do. Help them, thank them, fight for them, and hold them when they need to be held. Please.
There's no money in the world that could repay these people... and once this is finished, they will need a lot of help from everyone to deal with the emotional scars that this pandemic will do to them. This is not what they signed up for. I can only imagine the internal pain they are suffering ... lots and lots of hugs to all the ER and medical workers. We love you.
Her account of the personal hardships, her aspiration, and the suffering of the people on ventilation is hard to endure. Yet for the crisis, annectdotal report do nothing positive. Moreover, what she is reporting partly is owed to downscaling / low finances for hospitals in the past and partly "normal" ICU life, where nurses and doctors battle for lives every day, and people die tragically every day. I know I will get downvotes for this, but we need facts, and scientific assessment. Healthcare workers do a tremendous job and there must be a time to honour them. Their job, however, is neither crisis management in the larger scale nor epidemilogy. Leave this to the experts!
She's not saying anything about epidemiology. But the evidence is clear: not flattening the curve leads the above. That's not panic, it's fact, and it is backed up by evidence. It's not just 'downscaling' that causes hospitals to be overwhelmed. It's literally what happens in a pandemic. There are examples in history that back this up. The US is on 400,000 and climbing. And yeah, people die tragically every day. Cancer, car accidents, shootings. The difference is, you can't give cancer to a fellow human being. You can't spread a car accident to your grandparents by not practicing social distancing... These Corona deaths are preventable with social distancing, etc. This is the real tragedy. If accounts like this stop people from going out and help people self-isolate, then they are not contributing to 'panic' but doing literally a life saving service to the global community. "We need facts" -- we have facts with the amounts of cases. We're already at millions infected worldwide.
Load More Replies...You are my hero. Sending you energy, strength, and that ray of light you want to be.
My heart goes out to you. I can not imagine what you are going thru. I'm 77 years old and live on Vancouver island. I can only hope that if the virus gets me,and I am conscience of that. I will go to the beach and look out at the ocean. I don't want to go to the hospital. I'll have a sign that says dead of covid -19. These nurses,doctors and other hospital staff work their butt off. One less person for them to see die in their care may help, just a little.
My child dear Aleixandrea You are a hero no doubt and we are proud of you and hats off to your service. Please take care of yourself too. God bless you and your family and will take care. ALL OUR BLESSINGS TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY. Regards from Uncle
Wtf... this also sounds ridiculously sensationalist. "Everyone is leaving in death bags"... a lot of people is leaving healthy and cured. Don't be so fatalist. You're just injecting more fear in the situation
Very few COVID-19 leave the ICU healthy. When it has progressed to that point they nearly always die. That is her reality. Granted, most cases don't go to ICU, and yes most people recover but to work in an ICU with this disease is to see death.
Load More Replies...This scenario is taking place in multiple places throughout our nation. It's heartbreaking to read and I cannot even begin to imagine the pain these people are experiencing seeing it up close and personal, we all owe first responders and medical personnel a debt of gratitude. Thank you so much for being there in people's time of need.
I just wish I could suck all of this negativeness, this coronavirus, this whole shebang. I wish I could just deposit it all in me. I know it is not possible. And that I would kill myself in the effort. But I would give my life a million times over if it meant this whole mess would have never happened.
Holy cow, people. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Here's why: 1. The "deadly" Corona virus is equivalent to a BAD FLU SEASON. 2. The total number of deaths worldwide is 108K. Every day, 150K die from other causes including 25K from hunger. :( 3. The death rate for the Corona virus is 1.38%, and most of the people who die from it have an underlying, preexisting health condition. 4. Almost 4 times as many people have recovered from the Corona virus as have died from it. 5. You are worshiping the doctors and nurses who have simply gone to work everyday and done their job, yet teachers, who have to figure out a way to teach students online and sacrifice most of their free time to helping students are not acknowledged any more than usual. 6. Masks do not prevent you from getting the Corona virus, they only prevent you from spreading it if you already have it. 7. All these people who do not get dressed/wear clean clothes/change clothes are repulsive. 8. In my state (North Dakota) alone, there are 15.33 times more recoveries! (14 April 2020)
There are nurses who are unable to put up with this, they break down, some of them quit. Mostly because they have no protective gears. Sometimes they are sent among COVID patients without even a makeshift mask. And they are called weak, cowards, etc. by SJW-s who sit at home in their comfortable quarantine and beat their keyboards judging them. Give respect to nurses, give respect to all those people who work out there, raise their salaries, ensure that they get masks and everything they would need in order to stay safe. None of them can be obliged to sacrifice their own lives. And if you are unhappy with their work, well, then raise your a*s and youare welcome to do their jobs. Otherwise shut the f**k up.
More doom porn. The Chinese flu is just another strain. Deaths from it here are approximating a normal flu season. Hospitals across the country are laying off nurse because there are no patients.
I know this is sad and I feel sorry, but I don't understand how comes that? Here in Czech Republic so far 106 845 tests, 5335 of them positive, 104 deaths. Many of them were old, ill before and had comorbidities.. every death is sad, but in global this is not disaster. Car accidents caused more deaths...
This is not disaster?!? Well, greetings from Spain. Just hope you don't see it escalating as here, because the "it only affects to old people" song is getting old. It kills young and healthy people too.
Load More Replies...BCG vaccination is believed to give some resistance against Corona. Any attempts are being made to try this in the worst affected areas of US or Europe?
Hey Vanities, how's about you go hang out in an icu for a while. Get some plague. Prove just how tough you are.
Load More Replies...
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