I am a doctor and my heart is crying when I read all your experience stories. Each story is more significant than the next!
The in my view idiotic, absurd, nonsense, draconian and disproportionate corona measures clearly do more damage than good. Everything has been all about corona for more than a year and there is absolutely no eye for the terrible collateral damage of the corona measures. Collateral damage that clearly emerges from all your experience stories.
It seems as if common sense in this country has completely disappeared and no one can (or will) think clearly anymore. No one who brings (or wants to make) any nuance in all the corona madness. No one who sees (or wants to see) the whole picture. With a single and brave exception.
In my opinion, there is an ongoing mass hysteria. We are all consciously kept in a massive fear psychosis. Fear is a bad counselor! Fear is fine if a huge tiger suddenly jumps at you, because then you have to fight/flight for your life. You then have little choice. But living in total fear of corona every day is really bad for your health. Both mentally and physically.
Don’t get me wrong: Corona, like the flu, can turn out badly and even be deadly for the vulnerable among us. Such as the elderly with underlying disease (and polypharmacy), the chronically ill, the immunocompromised. But why do the healthy among us, the young people and the children still have to suffer every day from the general, untargeted and severe corona measures? While they do not or hardly suffer from corona? As an old Chinese saying aptly puts it: Don’t use cannon to kill muskito.
The two essential questions that everyone in the Netherlands (and also in the whole world) should ask themselves are: What in God’s name are we doing to our elderly, our vulnerable, our young people, our children? When will it stop?
We cannot all continue to interact endlessly in this horrible, antisocial and distant way. We are all human and need physical touch (hugs!) and social contact. Otherwise we will literally languish. And we are nothing more than unfeeling robots. We absolutely must not and may not lose our (fellow) humanity and our human dignity. Enough is enough! However?
Look, I don’t have a monopoly on wisdom and I don’t have a ready-made solution for everything. But know that as a doctor I deeply sympathize with you brave ones. Whether you are a nurse, care giver, practice assistant or other care worker. I sincerely hope that many more of your colleagues will join you and dare to speak openly and honestly here. Know that there is at least one doctor in the Netherlands who feels your pain and has a warm heart for you!
Finally:
Thank you very much for everything you have done and continue to do for your patients and clients. You are all heroes!
I should know, because I myself have worked for many years as a doctor in nursing home care. A good nurse or carer is worth gold!
Lots of strength and hang in there! Together we are strong!
A humble doctor,
Harry
