Day: March 20, 2020

Just sittin at home

I actually have a day off today. There were no patients scheduled for me at the office. At first I was frustrated by this, then I realized this day came just in time. I am exhausted, emotionally and physically. I have been working non-stop, both in literal hours and in hours spent trying to assuage panic and keep a good face. All of that is very worthwhile, but very tiring nonetheless. I am going to try to embrace this day as my little break and not worry about what is going on in the world around me. I am going to go outside on my deck and feel the wind and look at the birds and enjoy the sunshine. I am officially giving myself permission to relax, which is something I don’t do very often, to tell you the truth. I am going to seek out my own little spot of zen like I posted about last night.

As I started making plans to do just that, I got an email alert on my computer from a marketing company. It was titled something like “How to market in this time of crisis” or something like that. Ok, curiosity got the better of me and I opened it. The whole thing was about making patients believe that your services were essential and making them think they needed you, especially now. I get where they were going with it. They were trying to be helpful and find strategies to help you recruit patients and not have to go bankrupt until Corona Virus blows over…which is a real possibility…..However, it just came out all wrong and somehow selfish. That is just my take on it, of course. I get that now is a time of survival in all senses…physically, emotionally and economically and I am struggling a bit to find that perfect balance of altruism and self-preservation. We all are. But, I am not going to spend my time distracting patients and spa clients and making them think that they need me if they truly don’t right now. Yes, I have plenty of fun spa services to offer in addition to my regular obgyn services. It’s true. It is also true that the spa services are part of what is keeping the lights on right now in the midst of all the panic. Yes, they are relaxing in the sense that the patient is doing something just for them. Sometimes, getting to do that one thing for yourself is the thing that keeps the scale from tipping even further toward anxiety and panic. There is also the reality that the hospital is screening patients at the door so that anyone who even seems slightly ill cannot even get in. If you think about it, your chance of exposure is a lot less in that regard. Still, there is a part of me that feels selfish about advertising right now. So, I have really toned it down not up at this time. What I really want patients to be concentrating on is taking this whole thing seriously, following guidelines, staying home if possible, and keeping themselves healthy so we can be done with this whole thing and resume life as usual. For the patients that do need or want to come in, we welcome them with open arms and universal precautions. Have a fantastic day everyone!

Dr. Katz

Just when I thought I could stop being anxious

I saw the news today celebrating no new corona virus cases in Wuhan. Whoohoo! That means there is an end to this thing at some point, right? It sounds good doesn’t it? Now take a quick step back and remember that this cycle took several months….that we know of. Also consider that China was months ahead of us. This means we are not done with this for awhile folks. This means it is more important than ever to listen to the EXPERTS like the CDC…not google…not your friends( unless they are healthcare workers on the front lines maybe)…not your chiropractor or the kid at the grocery store. Pay attention to Dr. Anthony Fauci! Who is Dr. Anthony Fauci? He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If he starts talking, be quiet and listen for a minute. He says think twice before you get on a plane. He says we have to take this seriously. He says that there are no PROVEN safe and effective therapies for the Corona Virus yet. That does not mean that possible treatments are not being looked at. He doesn’t say to panic, but he does say that we all need to do our part to stay at home when possible, not to make unnecessary trips and to stay away from crowds to decrease the chances of spread. Every time I see the latest beach vacation pic lately with hundreds of people in sunny Florida, defiantly partying, I just scratch my head in bewilderment and disgust. What the heck do people think they are doing? Have we become so egocentric that we think that nothing can permeate our own little bubbles? Do we think our actions have no consequences? Newsflash! There are no bubbles right now! Every single unnecessary exposure just puts more people at risk like gigantic ripples on the ocean. I can’t help looking at those pictures with some resentment as I am going straight home from work and then straight back to work the following day. I think about the vacations that are now cancelled and everything my kids are missing. But guess what? All those things are survivable and worth it! I realize that the government is not just trying to ” control” me or “mess with me.” They are trying to take what steps they can to stop the spread of this thing. Believe it or not, the same folks that are defying the guidelines while complaining about being controlled are the same folks that are taking the one element that we can control( social distancing) and throwing it to the wayside, unilaterally deciding for all of us how the course of this virus will go. I had to go to the store today for the first time in awhile. I was standing in line and these two people stumbled up next to me, obviously under the influence of something and were making out in line. Then they decided to plunk their items down almost on top of mine and then snatch them back, run back to the aisle and pick out something else and then plunk that down on top of my purchases. They were also both coughing with no attempt to cover whatsoever. I looked at the guy and said,” What are you doing? Now is not the time for that.” They just stared at me, shocked, as if it completely escaped them that I would not want to be coughed on, bumped against, watch them slobber over each other, or have our purchases hang out together like some kind of slumber party in the middle of a pandemic! Imagine that! To be honest, I wouldn’t enjoy any of those behaviors even if there were no pandemic, but who’s counting..lol) It is just this kind of ignorant and belligerent behavior that is going to get us all into trouble, make this pandemic last longer and completely close the small window of opportunity for us to get back to our normal lives a little sooner. Please people. We have to do better. It won’t kill us to stay in our houses more, cook at home, stop making unnecessary trips or avoid crowds. Life will go on temporarily without trips, festivals and concerts, but if we don’t try a little harder to follow these temporary guidelines, we will end up having to forcibly surrender all of the autonomy that we thought we were fighting for in the first place.

Dr. Katz