He had to tell his patients when it was their turn to say goodbye to their families.
“The hardest thing is the guy who talks to the patient with Kovid, who says, ‘You know what? It’s time to call your wife. We have to put the trachea down and it’s time for you. Say goodbye,’ Burkard said.
Barkard, 28, in his third year of residence at Spectrum Health Systems in Michigan’s Grand Rapids, and what he needed to do to protect himself. He wore protective devices at work, had a mask on his own time and stayed socially away, he says.
He ran five days a week, played lib ball and coached, ate a healthy diet and had no major conditions under him. If he got infected, he thought, that’s fine.
“I really, at one point, thought, ‘I just want to get the virus and get rid of it,'” he told CNN. “I thought there was no real chance of me being admitted to the hospital. I am a healthy young man.”
‘I just couldn’t breathe’
And then came the illness and a positive result for Covid-19.
It started with a fever and cough, and Burcard felt sick, but after three days things improved significantly. He knew that small people could get really sick with the virus, but it seems he fired the shot. Then day six came around.
“I got out of bed. I went to make sandwiches and walked around my apartment a little bit and I couldn’t hold my breath,” Burcard said. “I just couldn’t breathe.”
He tested his oxygen levels and he knew – and so did his colleagues when he called – so he had to admit.
He went to his own hospital, where he was very familiar but also very new – and horrible.
Loneliness and loneliness going into the Covid-19 unit. Feeling of shortness of breath. Fear, dread. There were no friends and family around to calm his worries.
“I’m literally at work where I have a lot of friends and colleagues and none of them can come and say hi,” Barkard said. “I can’t be more grateful to the nurses, philebotomists and doctors who continued to treat me with smiles under their masks.”
Burkecard doesn’t know how he got the virus, but he knows it’s no joke to be with him. Two weeks after the positive test, he still can’t walk without taking a hard time breathing.
He is staying at home, where he had time to watch social media reactions to the diagnosis of those who do not believe in the reality of his virus, which has killed more than 250,000 Americans and infected 11 million more.
He said, “I had a lot of people saying … I’m flooded. Someone reported me on Facebook for having a fake profile,” he said.
He hopes some people will think twice about his experience.
“Just like the keyboard to interact with the object rather than backwards, imagine that someone that you’re going to put a breathing tube in his throat, and they will never again be able to tell their loved ones ‘I Love You’.,” He said.
Burkecard says he prefers to be an ER doctor, and he shines when he talks about getting back to work. For a sharp and tax-paying shift it will have to wait until it is strong enough. In the meantime, he feels guilty that his coworkers are working so hard because the coronavirus is hitting more and more people.
Barkard says Spectrum Health has 300 Kovid-19 patients, the region’s main healthcare system. Most of them since the epidemic began, he added.
Bernacard’s interview with CNN was the first time he had committed suicide in his apartment after being released from the hospital. It is no longer hiding the virus, but any activity is still difficult.
“I need this. It’s nice to see people again,” Barkard said, taking a deep breath as he started walking home a short distance.
He told everyone to follow the guidelines – stay home, wear a mask, stay out socially and save lives with this Thanksgiving get-to-bat and then celebrate.
And he hopes it can serve as a cautionary tale.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about this virus,” Barkard said. “Don’t take chances on how healthy you are.”
The report is contributed by CNN’s Jack Carpenter.
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