This is a sad follow up to a blog I wrote recently about a local resident who witnessed what happening when a COVID-19 outbreak hit Burnaby Hospital on Dec. 15, one of several that have been declared at the health facility.
Jane (not her real name as she wants her privacy protected) had been admitted to Burnaby Hospital a few days before after needing an emergency procedure.
I spoke with her to find out what it must be like to be in a hospital for something other than COVID-19 and have all hell break loose right in front of you. She was forced to go to a hospital that had just seen more than 100 cases between patients and staff, plus at least 10 deaths.
“It was so unsettling,” Jane told me. “You just feel helpless.”
After being sent home from the hospital, Jane started to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms so she was booked for a test at the Central Park facility in Burnaby.
Some anxious hours followed and a sleepless night and now she has received the bad news.
Jane has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and she is now scheduled to speak with a contact tracer, which will be interesting because all of her contacts were at Burnaby Hospital.
“Merry Christmas to me,” Jane said.
Oh, and it's not just her, she said.
"Despite our best efforts at isolating in different rooms and all, my husband is showing symptoms now too," said Jane, who added that her husband has a test scheduled for Thursday.
When Jane was first admitted to BH, she was tested to see if she also had COVID-19. She did not and so she was admitted.
Jane said patients who did not have COVID-19 were put in a separate area, but it wasn’t a completely different ward behind a door.
“There were those cloth curtains that separated us,” Jane said. “It didn’t really feel much safer.”
Then, suddenly, she was told by a hospital staffer that there was a new outbreak of COVID-19 at the hospital.
“It was hard because I had no choice about being there,” Jane said.
All she felt was frustration and helplessness as she waited to heal enough that they would discharge her.
All Jane wanted was to get home so she could continue to get better and now she has a new health crisis to deal with as Christmas arrives. This is the risks that people face when they have no choice but to be admitted to hospital. It's also another reminder of the risks that all health workers face as they go to work every day.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
