Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 73 What has it been like treating patients hospitalized with COVID? I still remember seeing my fi rst patient with COVID. I was wearing all the recommended PPE and had a good fi t to my N95 mask, but I must admit it was still a nervous experience. Everything we had heard about this deadly virus was playing in the back of my mind, and part of me had naively hoped it wouldn't reach our town. Now it was here, and I was about to enter a patient's room with a confi rmed infection. As I entered the room, I remember looking up and saying a silent prayer. As soon as I entered the room, however, I saw a person who appeared uncomfortable and anxious, with an oxygen mask on. The inherent, magical instinct of any healthcare provider kicked in, and I began my assessment as I would during any other patient encounter. Suddenly, the only thing on my mind was fi guring out how to treat the patient's illness and make him feel better. A lot has evolved in terms of medical management since my fi rst encounter with a COVID-positive patient. At fi rst, there were few treatment protocols and we had to make decisions based on extremely limited clinical data. Our experience with other viral infections, research of case reports published around the world, and bedside clinical analysis formed the basis of most of our decisions. As our experience with these patients grew and additional clinical data became available, we continued to adapt to provide the best possible care to our patients. We have good days where we celebrate patients going home, and there are also very somber days as patients succumb to the virus. As healthcare workers, we must do our best to control our emotions during a time when we are not only losing patients, but losing patients at a time when they can't have their loved ones around them. Temporary sacrifi ces to personal habits and routines are no match to the value of a human life. Think of the devastation an unexpected death brings to any family. If our adherence to social distancing and masking norms can prevent even a single child from being orphaned, it is too small a price to pay for such an enormous gain. Like in all testing times, if we work together, these too shall pass. " I dream of the day we have our last COVID patient recover, and getting there will require a lot of personal sacrifi ce and teamwork from the entire community – not just from our healthcare community." DR. TAUQEER RAHAT A tradition of advanced care. Learn more at Benefi s.org

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