The state of Utah may be looking at a nursing shortage as the Delta variant makes its appearance. While the numbers are low at the moment, healthcare providers are hearing from more and more nurses that they just can’t go through what happened last year again.
The last time I wrote about COVID I took some flak for being a liberal and was told that burnt-out nurses should belt up because this was the job they signed up for. But I am married to one of those nurses. And for those who scoffed at those nurses, you put yourself on the same level as Joy Behar, who did not know why a nurse would need a doctor’s stethoscope. You did not see the exhaustion. You did not see the toll death after death took on them. You did not have to see your wife come home after holding an iPad up to a patient’s face so his family could watch him die remotely, or after the restrictions were lifted struggle to keep a patient alive so their family could arrive in time to be with them as they died. Yes, it is their job, but you have no idea of the level that the deaths and the struggles actually reached and the number of times nurses were pushed past their limits. I do. And so does my wife. It was far beyond normal and light-years past the call of duty. And if you do not understand, that is fine. My wife was the first to say, “Don’t call me a hero” but please have the decency not to be an armchair quarterback unless you have the sack to do the job yourself. Nurses deal with things that would probably leave most of us in the corner sucking our thumbs. They don’t need our praise, but they would appreciate our understanding that at the height of the pandemic, they were called upon to do more than most, and oftentimes with very little. And for the record, nurses shop for groceries, have families and enjoy an evening out, too. They were no more or less depressed about the lockdowns and mask mandates than you were.
Before you rush to the comment section to vent your spleen, please consider the idea that two things can in fact be true at once. You can have a virulent and deadly disease with a host of unknown variables that may pose a risk to multiple demographics. At the same time, you can also have incompetent, narcissistic, and ambitious leaders who seize the opportunity to accumulate power or make themselves relevant when before, they had been anything but—which I submit has been the case with COVID-19. Undoubtedly there were bureaucrats at all levels who shouted “Finally! Saddle my horse! Hi-Yo Silver! Regulate! Away!” It is possible to exploit a very real problem for personal satisfaction and/or monetary gain and political clout. Or just for the sheer thrill of power.
And that is why I am finally reaching the last of the dry heaves over the shameless kabuki by Andrew Cuomo, who fell on his, ahem, sword on Tuesday and graciously announced his departure from office for the greater good. The man who lamented the fact that the discussion was not about facts, truth, or thoughtful analysis but the product of a political system driven by extremists. He moaned that rashness has replaced reasonableness and that loudness has replaced soundness. Who exactly didn’t give him a break? What unreasonable faction brought about this noble man’s downfall? His brother? MSNBC? NBC? CBS? The New York Times? Bueller…Bueller?
And so, he nobly took his bows and stepped aside, in part so that the state government can concentrate on fighting the Delta variant. And he had the gall to laud New York’s Covid response, during which the state was on its own. He added that the disease came over on planes from Europe. We were on our own. Don’t believe me? Scroll to 17:44 of this video:
Good God. Is MADE IN CHINA stamped on his backside? Never mind, I don’t want to know. This discount action figure of a man couldn’t sell for $1.95 at a comics convention, even in the original packaging. But of course, as Cuomo said, “Government is still the best vehicle for making positive social change.” Just not the New York government, apparently.
This from a man who may well have consigned thousands to painful, lonely deaths in New York nursing homes. And for what? Political expediency? To show contempt for Trump? These people had names, lives, and families. Just ask Janice Dean, whose family has paid the price for this arrogance and hubris. And if you are someone who sees these as acceptable losses in order to give Trump a punch in the snot locker, may I ask how much you got for your soul? No wonder nurses are thinking of quitting. They face ridicule from those on the outside and must contend with leadership that thinks only of itself. It’s enough to make you join an MLM.
Sexual assault should never be discounted, but neither should what might be at best a potentially historic case of manslaughter. When I covered the court beat as a reporter, sentencing for someone who had taken a life in a drunk driving incident or while texting and driving often included a photo of the victim to be placed in the perpetrator’s cell so that he would bear the burden of the life he had taken. In the event that Andrew Cuomo should be convicted of the nursing home atrocity, this odious reptile should be made to read aloud the names of those people who died at his hands in New York nursing homes before his breakfast or being allowed to use the toilet. He should never be allowed to forget his crime. Neither should the circus animals in the legacy media who ran cover for him.
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