Bess Kalb, the bestselling author of ‘Nobody Will Tell You This But Me’, shares the harrowing experiences of her dad, an ICU doctor who is treating Coronavirus patients.
According to Bess, her dad has encountered unprecedented health issues in patients since he started treating COVID-19 cases, remarkably different from anything he has witnessed in his extensive career.
She emphasizes that the impact of the virus is not limited to the elderly, as even young patients are succumbing to the effects of a “cytokine storm” just when they feel they are on the path to recovery.
Describing the situation, Bess states, “My dad is an ICU doctor treating COVID-19 patients. In the past WEEK he has set more ‘I’ve never seen a heart rate/RBC count/etc. like this’ records than in his decades-long career. What this virus does to the body is like ‘sticking your finger in an electric socket.’ Stay home.”
She recounts the case of a patient who required 8 blood transfusions in a single morning, despite not experiencing any external bleeding. The virus was rapidly depleting the patient’s red blood cells, surpassing the bone marrow’s production capacity. She finds it both baffling and brutal.
Highlighting the severity, she explains, “Young, healthy people are dying from a COVID-19 effect called a ‘cytokine storm.’ Basically, you make it off a ventilator (maybe!), you get your appetite back a little, you think you’re turning a corner, and then your immune system rips through your lung tissue and you drown.”
She also sheds light on another devastating impact, observing, “The other common way young people are falling off the face of the earth from this are the random strokes it causes. Talking one minute, stroking out the next, and then the nurses have to go through the cell phone to find “Dad” because “Mom” usually insists on coming.”
Bess passionately urges people to take the virus seriously, imploring them to stay at home and refrain from underestimating its potency.
