SARS

[AGBF]

Judy, who was ccuheartnurse on Diamond Talk, has posted elsewhere about the devastating effect of SARS on the hospital where she works in Toronto. She says that Toronto, like Singapore, has become one of the world''s hot spots for SARS. I would like to know how mercier and his family are doing. If anyone is in touch with him, ask him to post here and let us know!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All,
Firstly, Leonid, every picture I try to post is always rejected! There is always some "error" message saying its either too big or too small. I dont think the part. pic I want to upload is too big.

Secondly, this Sars issue is a big pain in the butt. As a beside nurse we have to wear isolation procedure clothing, masks, goggles, gloves & in intensive care settings, you have to wear shoe covers. Its really cumbersome (spelling??) to work in. Not to mention how hot you get from it too. I hope the scientist working on this make a break through very soon. We're essentially running around with our heads cut off as there is no real distinction yet if this virus is strictly airborne or if it lives on the surface, either human or non-human (counters, chairs etc).

I'll try to get someone to post a pic of what I looked like at work yesterday. I had by that point (end of the day) gotten rid of my goggles & the gloves. Too hot!!

Leonid, dont get sick! There are so many hospitals closed but I know St.Michael's emergency is open. I'm not sure about Toronto General. Now Sick kids is shut. They have 1 confirmed case & a couple suspected cases.

I know that there is a war going on, but to be honest, I dont even think about that when I go to work. There are over 170 paramedics on quarantine & I have lost count as to how many nurses. A local hospital, Scarborough Grace has 70 of their docs at home under quarantine with 2 drs. in the ICU not doing well. There are appeals countrywide for help from the medical community. We are in dire straights. All elective surgeries, all doctors hosp. office visits & all hosp. clinics are closed. This is HUGE.

Judy (no symptoms so far!)


Stay safe.

 

[pricescope]

Ccuheartnurse, please email me example of a picture you have problem with.

 

[fire&ice]

The News Hour w/ Jim Lehrer reported on SARS. They showed one of Toronto Hospitals and talked about the quarintine. I believe it was Scarborough Grace. They made no mention of two doctors in ICU though. Are you saying that two doctors have contracted SARS?

Geez, what else. Stay well.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

This is what I had to wear yesterday & nothing has changed today.
F&I, as far as the rumours go, those docs have it. There have been another 2 deaths reported just today. Scar. Grace was the hosp. with the 1st victim & where its spread from. The 1st hospital to have it was in fact York Central Hosp. as they are the hosp. that transferred out the woman that died to Scar. Grace. Its such a domino effect, very scary.

Judy

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Here's my handsome co-worker. I think he still looks hot with that mask, yellow gown & those god awful goggles. haha

Judy

 

[mike04456]

Am I the only one wondering if SARS might be some kind of biological warfare incident? The Chinese have had their own problems with terrorism, though it's not been well-reported in the Western media.

 

[diamondnovice]

You know LawGem, I actually thought of that too. I keep telling myself that I am being too cynical

Or at least I hope I am

 

[cowboystu]

This SARS thing just sucks! My company has given me the option of voluntary withdrawal from Singapore. There is no new travel allowed, and since I am an expat they will let me leave.

The thing is that I am as nervous about flying for 24 hours to get home as I am about staying here. I just don't want to get stuck here...since I am supposed to be proposing in 4 weeks!

It is such bad situation, and I have to figure out whether I should leave....But i am damned if i do, damned if i don't. I have come to the conclusion that I am at a high risk if i stay or if i go.

I just hope the new rumors that the virus is airborn are not true. The fact that an entire apartment building was sick in Hong Kong is scarier than anything else to me.

Just my reaction from the eastern world!

Stu

 

[Mara]

We are located in Santa Clara, CA....about 10 miles from San Jose airport where they quarantined a plane today at the airport for some hours trying to determine how many people onboard may be sick because a number of passengers supposedly were showing symptoms. The plane was from Tokyo. They finally determined that no one was sick, but all passengers and staff are on alert for the next week in case symptoms show up. Very scary! People are getting paranoid, the other nite I was at a restaurant and someone was coughing repeatedly and you just can't help but wonder....

Stay safe Judy and Leo and all. BTW Judy nice picture

 

[fire&ice]

Just how communicable (sp?) is SARS? Orginally, they said it was not. Ummm?

Also, anytime a weird disease pops up - one can't wonder about bio-weapon. I don't think this is the case though.

Be safe Judy! You too Leonid - but Judy is on the front lines so to speak.

 

[Iceman]

Judy ~ Keep us posted on whats going on

Thanks for the info.

 

[pricescope]

----------------
Be safe Judy! You too Leonid - but Judy is on the front lines so to speak.
----------------

Judy is on the front line indeed.

in the Toronto Star: "At least 49 of Ontario's 124 cases involve health-care workers."


[/u]

 

[Heyjud]

Saw on the news just this morning that many American couples are scheduled to fly to China to pick up their adopted babies, and have cancelled due to the SARS scare. Sad for them and for the babies.

I agree with those that suspect bio-terrorism. That was also my first thought. Stay safe... Judy and Leonid (and all of us!)

(great pictures Judy !)

--from one who shares your name!---

 

[Mara]

Mentioned to the FI about the bio-terrroism and he had a good point...said that he thought if it was a bio-terrorism move, then it probably would have been more effective (e.g. faster wipeouts, quicker spreads).

He also pointed out that in the past, many odd mutated viruses have come out of China...something about their living habits with livestock?

 

[slmulkey]

SARS has me pretty concerned as well. It's rare that you hear of newly discovered illnesses that are spreading this fast, and are so serious. I'm guessing that this is a mutated virus though, and not some sort of bioterrorism. If there was even a slight possibility that this disease was a result of bioterriorism, I figure that the press would be all over it.

I found an interesting (if a little technical) article on morbidity and mortality weekly report about the epidemiological investigation of SARS.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5212a1.htm

 

[cowboystu]

Well kids...they pulled the trigger. I am on my way stateside sometime this weekend or monday. The only good side to this is that it will be a bit easier to deal with the rest of the ring and proposal issues. But I am going to miss 2 scuba diving trips...some of the best diving in the world and some virus ruins it for me!

Take care,
Stu

 

[Mara]

Stu just wear that plastic bubble and you'll be fine.

Good luck! Better to come back into the US now...who knows what may happen in the next few weeks with both the war and the virus!

 

[flowerpower]

Hey Stu

All the best with the proposal! It was nice talking to you while you were here. Hope you leave with some fond memories of Singapore.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All,
Just checking in after a short time away. Life at work is still the pits. We still have to gear up like we're heading into a leper colony. In fact, Leper is exactly the word that describes how many of us are feeling in this city. After the WHO put a travel advirsory against Toronto, this is exactly how we're being portrayed to the world. We are not walking around (apart from a few people) with masks on. The general public goes on with normal life. My cousin who is a teacher said that she feels so removed from it that its just a really bad tv program. The media is making it look like we ALL walk around with those masks. Well, no we dont. In fact, its easier to get T.B from someone sitting next to you than this SARS. Leonid can tell you too what its like in the city. In fact, the city of Toronto itself has 2.5 million people, & when you combine our suburbs, we reach roughly 7 million. How is it then that its an epidemic that only 16 people have died? I know its fast, & I know its very sad they died. But for the WHO to paint Toronto as unsafe is ludicrous. I appologize that my frustration is evident in my post, its been a strain for a while now. Too much overtime & not enough rest. We all feel obliged to work overtime cause we are unable to get staff from the nursing agencies & our casual nurses have not been given permission from administration to work here. SO....life in the hospital is a bit tough right now. Hopefully this crap will be overwith soon enough. A friend who isnt a nurse, said she noticed that in my emails I was angry at what SARS has done for me at work but that I verbalize fear of catching it. I dont fear that at all. SARS is but a small blip & there are many other things I can catch at work.
Hell, I hope they (the U.S) doesnt close their borders to Toronto residents.

I'm heading to Vegas on May 5th for 5 days.

I'm REALLY looking forward to getting away. I'm going with my fiance, & meeting up with a couple of friends from NC. Cant wait!
Well, thats about it from my perspective.

Judy

 

[Rook]

I hope they figure something out about SARS quickly before it get even worse.

But, I have to grip again. My girlfriend works as a PHD student at Michigan State University. Many of her class/mates are from China, and they are going back to China this summer. Is it just me or is that the nuttiest thing you have heard. Why in the heck would these people go to the heart of the problem. Not only do you have a high risk of getting SARS, but good luck come back to the U.S. I know they are already being very very causious at the Canada/Michigan border and checking if anyone has even driven through Toronto. I don't expect it to be very long and they will start quarentining people before letting them in, or not letting them in at all, particularly a Chinese person who is comming back from China.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I told my girlfriend that if they go and come back, she should take a couple of weeks off when they return. Better safe than sorry, and stuff like this spreads life wildfire on campus.

 

[AGBF]

On 4/24/2003 10:32:32 PM ccuheartnurse wrote:

"In fact, Leper is exactly the word that describes how many of us are feeling in this city. After the WHO put a travel advirsory against Toronto, this is exactly how we're being portrayed to the world."

My husband's sister was due to visit from Israel. Her boyfriend was supposed to go to Montreal (Canada) to see his grown son who lives there now.

My sister-in-law said that the State of Israel has advised its citizens not to go to Canada at all. As a result, my sister-in-law may be cancelling her trip here to the US.

"The New York Times" editorial page has featured some letters from physicians discussing the possibility of quarantining *everyone*. Supposedly this was done (I have no idea where since this was the first I had heard of any quarantine in the 1918 outbreak) during the 'flu epidemic following World War I which claimed many, many lives worldwide.

 

[fire&ice]

Judy,

I have been thinking of you. I read that one nurse died. For some reason, I thought you posted under another name & have been here all along.

In the big picture, it does seem SARS has been blown out of proportion. But, with news report after news repost - they indeed give the impression that all of Toronto is a lepre colony.

Be well. Thanks for the post.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

AGBF,
Tell your relatives to come over. There is ABSOLUTELY no reason but panic that they should not. They are heading to Montreal, there isnt any problem there. Montreal has actually been less than amicable to Toronto. They have been notifiying convention, movie, & entertainment promotors to convince them that Toronto should be avoided at all costs & that they should give Montreal their business. Its been documented & was discussed by government in the news last night. Trichrome no trashing please. My nerves are raw after watching the news last night. Hows that for support from your own country. BS! So, you see, going to Montreal is quite safe. Tell them to come.

Fire & Ice,
I'm still kicking around.

There have been quite a few nurses affected, most that actually work on SARS specific units that were opened just for SARS victims. In my previous post I mentioned fear about catching it, in fact I made an error. I DONT fear it, I'm just angry at it for disrupting my life. Once this virus is delt with, life will go on like nothing has happened, for the general public that is. I'm not the melodramatic, overblown kind of person, but I do see that the hospital working environment will NEVER be the same. The freedom we had is no longer going to be there. Well, the Ontario Medical Association stated this. Many nurses have expressed concerns about leaving nursing or going back to school to learn something entirely separate from the medical business. Damn, I just want to get married, have a great life, have a baby, stay off a yr, then go back part time. hahaha Is this too much to ask for?? hahaha I would give up nursing in a second if there was another job I could do for the same salary range. Unfortunately, my critical care skills are not an asset in the computer industry.

Judy


Leonid & Kirk are both in the city & can tell you their perspectives.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

AGBF,
I didnt see the "quarantine everyone" snippet. Thats absolutely nuts. There is no need for this kind of stupidity.

Rook,
Yes, the borders are now doing a quick screen for SARS when coming across the border. I hear the line-ups are rather attrociously long since the border guards have yet more to do. Oh well...like I said, I would be very upset if they started turning us away at the border so a lengthy wait is ok with me. I wonder if those students HAVE to return back to China. I lived in the US for a while & I'll tell you INS is not in the business of being kind hearted. If those students have to go, they have to go. But hopefully things will have gotten better by then. If not, then they should expect a 10 day to 2 week quarantine when they return to school. That would appease any fear from the US side.

Judy