Since the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, several things have occurred to me, no single one of which was sufficient to warrant an essay, and taken together do not form a coherent whole. But I guess a critical threshold must have been reached, leading to me to the point of presenting a miscellany of my reflections, for whatever they are worth.
As we all know, when Thomas Eric Duncan first went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, he was sent home, even though he had Ebola symptoms and had told the nurse that he had recently come from Liberia. His nephew has since said he believes this poor care resulted from the fact that Duncan was black and had no insurance. I suspect a different reason. In the last years of my mother’s life, I had occasion to take her to a hospital many times. My mother was white, and she had insurance. But they had a doctor in the emergency room that had apparently made it his mission in life to keep people from being admitted into the hospital. It got to where I would groan whenever I saw him. In some cases, she did not need to be admitted, and in some cases, he had no choice but to admit her. But there were a couple of times when she was sent home despite my pleading to have her admitted. I cannot help but wonder if Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and other hospitals throughout the United States have doctors in the emergency room just like the one I had to deal with, so obsessed with sending people home that they do it thoughtlessly and from habit. That such a doctor would not take the trouble to see if the patient had recently come from West Africa does not surprise me.
And then there is the strange behavior of the dog during the night. “But the dog didn’t do anything during the night.” Of course he didn’t do anything. He had been euthanized. I refer, of course, to the dog in Spain that had been killed because he belonged to a nurse who came down with Ebola. For days I wondered why no one seemed to ask what the policy of the United States would be regarding pets. I was glad to read that the pet found in the apartment of the woman who contracted Ebola in Dallas would be cared for. However, this should have been addressed immediately. People love their pets and would be likely lie and conceal their animals if they thought they would be euthanized, which would only make matters worse. Hopefully, the CDC will follow the example set by Dallas in this matter.
Speaking of emergency rooms, this morning they shut down the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian. One patient died from Ebola, and a second has been admitted who treated him, and the emergency room is now diverting people elsewhere? This is not encouraging. If just two patients, one of whom is dead, can shut down an emergency room, what would happen if the city had to deal with twenty or thirty cases? Would they be turning people away just as they do in West Africa?
Now, I know I am not supposed to panic. I have heard people on television saying there is no need to panic every time the subject of Ebola has been discussed for weeks now. There is something a little patronizing about that admonition, which becomes grating after a while. It is not as though there is a time and place for panic, and we can expect the CDC to come out and announce it: “Good Morning. The Ebola epidemic has now reached the point that there is a need to panic. Therefore, we recommend that everyone head for the hills.” Telling someone not to panic is a little like telling someone not to act stupid, thereby suggesting that he might act stupid. It is insulting.
When Dr. Kent Brantly was first brought to Emory University Hospital, a big deal was made over the fact that he was able to walk into the hospital without a wheel chair or gurney, even though he appeared weak and needed assistance. I could not help but think this was for show. Given the seriousness of Ebola, I would not have wanted to take a chance of his falling down and causing a breach in the suit he was wearing. But it was apparently more important to reassure the public as to how well he was doing, than play it safe and use a gurney.
Telling people not to panic is not likely to be effective. Has a panic ever been stopped by someone saying, “Don’t panic”? Whenever I hear a government official say there is nothing to worry about, I think of the mayor in Jaws (1975), who does not want to cause a panic during the Fourth of July weekend in his town, which depends on tourism, as well as the sheriff, who reluctantly goes along with him. Or, for those who say I watch too many movies, there is the example of Christine Todd Whitman, who, as Administrator of the EPA, assured everyone that the air around ground zero was safe to breathe in the days after September 11. As a result, we must conclude that she was either a fool or a knave. I think most people suspect the latter. She probably knew that the air was not safe, but she did not want people to panic and begin a mass exodus from the city. So, thanks to her, they did not panic, and many have died or become seriously ill as a result. Or maybe she was a fool, who truly believed the air was safe. I have no doubt that there were people in New York that knew better, and they either wore protective masks, or they left the city for a while.
In other words, when a government official tells you something is safe and not to panic, that can be a good thing. While everyone else is remaining calm, you can slowly start making your way to the exit.