To use an old formula, to ask the question is to answer it. For a large part of this population, a resounding yes is called for. For the rest, no, clearly.
Before going any further, it is good to specify that I worked in the health field as a beneficiary attendant and registered nurse, for more than twenty years. My work environment has been mainly intensive care and emergency, so I believe I am qualified to answer the above question.
For a majority of the population, human suffering and death are purely theoretical concepts. For those who work in the hospital environment, they are old acquaintances, old friends or the enemy to be brought down, depending on the point of view.
Rub shoulders with death
It seems easy for many to pontificate on human distress and to try to justify delinquent behavior by totally bogus or fanciful arguments. We must have held the hand of a patient at the end of the race for whom we can no longer do anything, to appreciate our finality. You have to have told a son or daughter of the death of a loved one to understand the pain you feel. Yes, death is normal and our finality inescapable, but before elaborating on this fact, we still need to know what we are talking about …
It is also good to remember that there are many ways to die, some more “pleasant” than others. During the AIDS epidemic, I accompanied some patients during their last moments. Some have lived these moments alone and terrified, away from those who love them, just like, I suspect, several patients with COVID.
I have no doubt, however, that they have access to quality end-of-life care, but personally I would prefer to have my family by my side. How can one, by his delinquent behavior, condemn another human to such a fate? It is beyond comprehension.
Thank you to health professionals
For years, different governments have followed one another and neglected the various health professionals: nurses, nurses, respiratory therapists, attendants and so on. We should not be surprised that today, we are paying the price, and being surprised that we lack personnel, is unconscious.
To all those still at the front lines, my sincere thanks, you all have my admiration and my gratitude.
–
