Providing medical help to people who won't help themselves during COVID-19, August 2021


It's August 21st, 2021, and I've been watching people debate as to whether doctors and hospitals should continue to help people who chose not to get the vaccine and are contracting the Delta Variant of COVID-19. These are interesting times that we're living through, and historically that's been a curse. I'll tell you what I'm seeing now, in hopes that people in the future can make some sense out of this.

For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic has made them ponder a question they never thought of before: Should doctors and hospitals continue to help people who won't take precautions to help themselves? Well of course they should, and they will, don't worry about that. If I were rushed into the emergency after a car accident, there would be no discussion as to whether I was wearing my seat belt, or looking at my cell phone, or driving while intoxicated, the hospital would just help me. That's how it works.

By the way, here in Arizona there's the "Stupid Motorist Law", which kicks in if you willfully drive around a barrier in a flooded area, and have to be rescued. Yes of course they'll still rescue you, no matter how stupid you are, but the law provides severe financial penalties for your carelessness.

I've known some very hard-headed people who won't help someone if it's very obvious that the person needs help simply because of carelessness. For a lot of people, it teaches them to behave like a responsible adult, to look at their gas gauge before they get on the freeway (to see that it doesn't say "E"), to eat a healthy breakfast before they go into work, and the list goes on and on. I've met a lot of people who have gotten by just fine by relying on the kindness of strangers, and they tend to be the kind of people who say things like, "What? Me worry?"

Speaking for myself, I've seen more of the inside of hospitals than I ever wanted to, and I have no intention of going back into one (unless it's something minor, like a broken leg). I've filled out all of the paperwork, signed and notarized, that expresses my wishes, including DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). In the meantime I'll do my best to stay healthy, eat my veggies, exercise daily, take my meds (including yearly flu shots - including of course COVID-19), brush and floss, and so on. I'm gonna do the best I can, but I know that I can never do everything perfectly. Luckily, no health care professional has asked me to be perfect, and I know that I'll never be turned away. Neither will you.
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