No ER, at least for now

Monday, July 18, 2022

10:27 PM

My breathing has become more difficult over the past four days. I’m now to the point where crossing the room is causing me to gasp for air. Sunday was a particularly challenging day. The humidity was making breathing even more problematic. Pulmonary fibrosis comes with a growing assortment of barriers every day.

Sunday, I had a decision to make: would I go to Emerg at the QEH? Factors to be considered: COVID numbers are ratcheting up higher and higher and the virus is everywhere; the Chief Public Health Officer declared PEI to be in another wave; emergency rooms in eastern and western PEI were closed putting additional pressures on the QEH and PCH; a growing number of healthcare staff have COVID and are staying away from work; tourist high season is now and visitors have nowhere else to go when they’re sick; I’m immunocompromised, but still breathing; the ER has air conditioning.

It came down to this: did I want to go into an enclosed space where there could be a lot of COVID with limited and exhausted staff on a weekend where there was already reduced access across the province to emergency healthcare and possibly have to wait many hours before being seen? The only upside would have been cooler and drier air.

I decided to wait. Such are the times in which we live.

Tomorrow, I’ll re-consider that decision. #onedayatatime

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