One night in the ICU: Alberta healthcare workers share the reality of COVID-19 patient care – Edmonton

A doctor and respiratory therapist detail a night in an intensive care unit in Edmonton during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Raiyan Chowdhury is an intensive care specialist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

He finished his shift in the ICU just hours before an interview with Global News on Friday.

“The typical story (for a COVID-19 patient) is this: Their symptoms started a day ago… seven days ago.

“They are trying to cope at home, but things got so bad, like with shortness of breath, that they came to the emergency room. From there it’s pretty quick.

Chowdhury said the COVID-19 patients he sees during Wave Four are younger and deteriorate faster in the hospital.

“Within 12 hours, they need [five times] their oxygen levels. Then, very quickly, put on life support, ”he said. “When we put someone on life support, we put them to sleep and often have to paralyze them. Then all kinds of invasive procedures follow.

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For example, Chowdhury said a patient Thursday night needed “cardiopulmonary bypass.”

“It means we put huge pipes in people’s necks to oxygenate their blood,” he said. “They have never had any interaction with the health care system before and now they are at risk of death in their twenties and thirties. It is heartbreaking.

The doctor said many of the procedures were “tortuous”.

“We stop caring for people when it has become futile. When (someone is on a ventilator) and you do this to them and there is no improvement and continued decline, you run into a moral dilemma. Should I keep doing this to someone if you know they can’t make it? “

During Chowdhury’s shift, a man in his forties with COVID-19 had to be put back on a ventilator after being recently taken off. He said that before the hospital staff did, they asked if the patient wanted to see his parents.

“He said, ‘I don’t want them to come in. They could be exposed and they are old people. ‘ “

Instead, the patient texted his family. Chowdhury said the man detailed his funeral rights to his parents, apologized for putting them in this situation and thanked them for giving him a wonderful life.

Cara Moffat often begins her intensive care unit with a broken heart.

The registered respiratory therapist said she recently spent the majority of her shift with a young mother who would eventually die of COVID-19 after spending days in care.

“It’s a lot of regrets on the part of the patients. I would say the majority of patients regret not having been vaccinated, ”Moffat said. “It’s like Russian roulette. Maybe your friend didn’t get sick. Maybe your uncle had a mild case of COVID. But for you? You do not know.

Chowdhury and Moffat urge Albertans to get vaccinated.

“No one I know who gets vaccinated in hospital has needed major interventions from me as an intensive care physician. It’s just the reality, ”Chowdhury said.

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Moffat said it is difficult to convey to Albertans how serious this situation is, as most did not have to be admitted to the ICU.

“We see things that people on the outside don’t see. Let us be your witness. Let us tell you what’s really going on, ”Moffat said.

“I hope Albertans hear these stories. They see it getting worse and then they go out and get vaccinated. “