Medical professionals in America risk their lives these days, and the greatest fear is that they may move from being part of the solution to part of the problem.

The doctor, Yvonne Yue, is awaiting the results of a corona virus test, in light of the possibility of infection, at East Coast Hospital, where she practices newborn medicine. Her cousin, Pamela Lynn, a doctor at a family clinic in Baltimore, had not coughed for three days, and was waiting for her test results.

Pamela Lynn's husband, an infectious disease expert at Baltimore Hospital, is worried about a shortage of protective equipment and medical supplies. Within this cohesive family, there is also a doctor in the emergency room that deals with an increase in patients with symptoms associated with coronavirus, another doctor in Philadelphia treats patients with weakened immunity and at particular risk of the virus, and a retired doctor who may be called in to care for patients, with cases increasing Large. Yue fears for her family of doctors, as the epidemic spreads.

Yue has always considered herself fortunate to be a family of doctors, but the family is now facing the greatest challenge of her life as she wrestles with the dilemma of patient care, although this could endanger her young. Suddenly, Yu faces impossible questions: Who in the family will take care of her daughter if she gets sick? What should she advise her elderly mother to do, if she is asked to take care of Corona patients? Will her family survive the crisis? And in it she says: "I think about it all the time."

Similar predicaments

Doctors across the United States face similar dilemmas that have become more acute due to the government's failure to protect them, by warning the public, conducting tests, and providing adequate protective equipment. And every time a doctor becomes ill, the already disrupted health care system is closer to the point of breakdown.

Yue (33) thought of her family while she was being examined for the virus, about her five-month-old daughter, her mother who lives nearby, and her husband with asthma, which puts her at greater risk for "Covid-19." “When it comes to being doctors, I am concerned about (family members) Stephanie, Alex, Jennifer, and Pamela, I am concerned about their health, and ultimately being overwhelmed by everything that happens,” said the young doctor. “There is an emotional burden related to work. Then there is concern about each other. ”And her aunt's daughter, Pamela, who works in primary care, is the first point of contact with the medical system for many patients.

Last week, one of the doctor's patients complained of difficulty breathing, a common symptom of the emerging virus. "It is too late for me and my family," Pamela says, and she may have contracted her patient. Her patient was tested on March 12 and is still waiting for the results. She said: "A patient test was sent from Baltimore to a laboratory in Utah, and then because of a lack of the material necessary to treat the tests, the sample was sent from Utah to Arizona." This is part of the dysfunction and delay that overwhelms the test crisis in the country, a major factor impeding the fight The virus.

Meanwhile, Pamela began feeling sick, on Tuesday, and took the test herself, believing that she is self-isolated at home, which is only a matter of time to check whether she is infected with the virus or not. Before infecting her two children, it will be impossible to completely isolate them. Moreover, the doctor suffered from being away from work: “As a health care provider, if my injury is proven, this will have major effects on my job and all patients.” Follow-up: “There is also this commitment that I and my co-workers feel, and if I am okay with it Enough, I have to go to work because I have a job, and that makes it difficult for any of us to sit on the sidelines. ”

Feeling frustrated

Pamela's husband, Dr. Alexander Chen, an infectious disease expert, says that compared to many hospitals across the country, his condition is good, and the hospital where he works is equipped with additional masks and respirators, but even this surplus can quickly run out, due to the increase Expected for patients. This includes a host of other items, including thermal caps, protective jackets, and materials for transporting test kits. And hospitals across the country are warning of facing a severe shortage of everything from respirators and protective equipment, to smears for testing. "My feeling is frustration," Chen said, adding, "We are waiting for the inevitable."

Chen admitted that the expectations of many medical professionals can be fulfilled: "I have come to the fact that we may see doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists die, and I am just trying to accept that bad things will happen."

A tough profession

Stephanie Anderson, cousin of Yvonne and Pamela, says she is concerned about the transmission of the virus to her husband and two children who are seven and nine years old. Anderson, who works at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, says that she does not rub with her two children until she takes a shower and puts her clothes in the washing machine, after she returns home from every shift, then cleans her car, and says: "I have to keep them safe", follow: " This was the anxiety of my colleagues and me: What will we do with the family? It is in our minds, and this definitely increases the pressure. ”

Anderson says that the emergency room in which she works, receives more patients who have symptoms associated with the emerging virus, and is wearing protective equipment, but she knows that they (viruses) may be implemented at any moment, and even if that happens she will continue to work, and in this she says: « We know that this is the nature of our work that we have chosen. We deal with the events of collective injuries and dangerous trauma. ”

Everyone is concerned

Yvon Yue's mother, Anna Ko (68), is a retired doctor, who shares her anxiety with her daughter and relatives. The Department of Retired Persons and New York City launched an appeal asking physicians and retired nurses to be admitted to hospitals and medical centers. Anna Coe says she is studying the possibility of joining work again, despite the risks to people over the age of 65. "If there is a need for me, and there is faith that I may help, I will definitely join," the retired doctor says, adding: "We are all concerned, and everyone should do their part."

Yue faces several questions, including: Who in the family will take care of her daughter if she gets sick? What should she advise her elderly mother to do, if she is asked to take care of Corona patients?