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COVID-19 & the Clemson nurse in Cali?
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COVID-19 & the Clemson nurse in Cali?


May 18, 2020, 8:13 PM

I recall some dramatic posts on here by a Clemson grad working as a nurse in California, about how his hospital was overrun, how drastic conditions had become etc.

Was that legit? What hospital was he working in?

I've searched the internet and not found any indications of hospitals in California being overwhelmed at any point during this pandemic.

In fact USC (the real one) schools of pharmacy and public policy were calling for the "opening up" of hospitals in early April. Many of them had been shut down to other patients in expectation of the COVID-19 rush that never happened. The point of the USC departments was that the drastic measures to prepare proved unnecessary (which of course wasn't obvious until it was obvious.)

So, again, I'm wondering, were those posts on here for real? What hospital was that?

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soywaker?


May 18, 2020, 8:22 PM

https://www.tigernet.com/user/soywaker-89654


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Valid question...


May 18, 2020, 8:47 PM

...hope he's okay though.

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/15/usns-mercy-leaves-los-angeles-after-treating-77-patients-some-personnel-will-remain-in-l-a


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"When I was 6 my Mother let me have a kitten. It died. Don't send prayers, a TU is better." - tugalooriver circa 2022


Re: Valid question...


May 18, 2020, 8:50 PM

Good call. Soy is a hell of a guy and posted some real, early on with Covid. I hope and pray he is ok on the left coast and that one of the good ones can check in.

He’s had a lot in the last 2 years as I recall so he has to be a fighter.

Best wishes and thanks for the thoughts.

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Re: COVID-19 & the Clemson nurse in Cali?


May 18, 2020, 8:57 PM

From what I recall, they weren't over run ...but we're definitely ramping up at the time. I believe the big issue was lack of PPE (or having to reuse). Soy is not prone to hyperbole. And if he said things were grave at the time, I believe him..

Nurses still concerned about PPE as of a week ago in some California hospitals:

https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-nurses-protest-over-practice-reusing-n95-masks/32421757


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Believe you are correct. PPE was the primary issue.


May 18, 2020, 9:04 PM

I certainly don't blame him for being alarmed at the time.

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"When I was 6 my Mother let me have a kitten. It died. Don't send prayers, a TU is better." - tugalooriver circa 2022


PRESENT!!


May 18, 2020, 9:52 PM [ in reply to Re: COVID-19 & the Clemson nurse in Cali? ]

I just typed out a long detailed review of the last 6 weeks.. and hit the back button ??

Main issue early was PPE. I was asked to use the same simple mask, not even an N95, for positive patients all day. Not even effective against COVID.

We did convert our Ambulatory Surgery Unit into a COVID M.A.S.H. style set up, and put 2 massive intake tents outside. They never needed to be utilized. Simply stated, we never got the "surge" or numbers we anticipated.

Magically, about a month ago, we had whatever PPE we felt we needed made available to us. I've taken care of many COVID pos patients who were critically I'll and have since recovered.

Overall, hospital numbers are down bc there are no elective procedures being done. People who can wait are staying away. So my hospital, like many others, has actually not been very busy. The most COVID pos pts we had was 10-15 in ICU and 20-30 on med surgery and telemetry at any point.

The game changer in my opinion was that we started using a 24h rapid test. Patients who were PUIs were being kept in isolation for 4-6 days before, so we were being overrun early. Being able to clear someone in a day has been huge.

It's been an interesting and growing time. This country is not prepared for a pandemic. We should learn and be better for this. Not having equipment is shameful.

I have had many simultaneously beautiful and heart breaking moments. On Mothers Day, a man who was talking to me all morning, history of pancreatic cancer, came in for a fall. He had horrendous pain and had history of opioid dependence from the cancer and old injuries. We simply could not get his pain under control safely as he did not want to be on a breathing machine. There are no visitors allowed in hospitals. The man made himself a DNR, and we did this via phone with his mother and sister. Before I even had a chance to administer more pain meds (10 mins), I walked into his room and watched his color change to white, his HR plummet, and his eyes roll back.. agonally breathing. I called the MD in the room and got his family on the phone. Listened to his sister and mother cry, say goodbye, and pray as I held the man's hand and rubbed his head. That was probably the toughest thing. Not the COVID, but that this man died without his family..

I try to present the reality of what I see, and I appreciate the recognition that I am not one to speak in hyperbole.

This thing was terrifying early. I think it's time to open. People just need to be safe. I pray for those who have struggled with the virus whether its directly or indirectly relating to economics or like my story above.

I love this board, hope you all stay strong and healthy.. And of course, I cannot wait to stand next to y'all as we pump our fist and cheer on our Tigers.

Much love, and GOOO TIGERS!!

(Feel free to ask specifics or other questions if you got em!)

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null


Thanks for the update and thanks for your service!


May 18, 2020, 10:10 PM

Good to know there are people like you taking care of us. Appreciate your comments coming from someone on the frontline.

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"When I was 6 my Mother let me have a kitten. It died. Don't send prayers, a TU is better." - tugalooriver circa 2022


Re: PRESENT!!


May 18, 2020, 10:11 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

God be with you Soy. I hope yours are safe and healthy.

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Re: PRESENT!!


May 18, 2020, 10:27 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Thanks for the update! That only a few areas were ever really overwhelmed is great news...at least for the rest of us.

Did any medical professionals in your hospital ever contract COVID-19?

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Yes, we had a handful of RNs that I'm aware of that tested p


May 19, 2020, 8:05 PM

Many more were sent home and quarantined early.. and that includes respiratory therapists as well. To my knowledge, none were critically ill. The fact that no surge ever came is great news
I'll let others argue the why of that, conspiracy vs. quarantine effectiveness vs. hype, etc, I just know I'm grateful it didn't happen.

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null


Great stuff - thank you !!! Need info on how you came up


May 18, 2020, 10:36 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

with your board name, please.

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Brad Brownell: Only Larry freaking Shyatt has a WORSE overall winning percentage among Clemson basketball coaches since 1975. Let that sink in. It's Larry Shyatt & then Brad Brownell.


Rocky the Tiger.. My board (bored???) name was the first


May 19, 2020, 8:12 PM

username I ever created. I was a junior in 99 at Clemson. I took a six week summer session in San Jose Costa Rica through Clemson with about 15 others. Email was new to me. I am a big Widespread Panic fan and really liked a song called The Waker, with the lead chorus being I am the Waker. That name was taken, I was in a spanish speaking place, so soy = I am, waker from the song.. Classic Spanglish. As I joined boards and forums, I've just kept it.

Great time in Costa Rica, loved it so much I went with the same professor to Santiago Chile the following fall for a semester. Probably still paying for it, but it was worth it!

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null


Re: PRESENT!!


May 18, 2020, 10:39 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Thank you for reaching out, Soywaker. God bless you for all you do for so many. You are a true tiger!

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Re: PRESENT!!


May 18, 2020, 10:42 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Thanks for serving your fellow Americans in this very dangerous way .

Maybe it’s just me , but I never doubted what you were posting . I’ve had doubts about the veracity of some of the posts on here , but

I NEVER SAW A NEED TO QUESTION ANYTHING YOU WERE POSTING ABOUT YOUR WORK .

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Thanks Soy! Hope to see you in The Valley this fall!***


May 19, 2020, 7:22 AM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]



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Re: PRESENT!!


May 19, 2020, 8:14 AM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Thanks for the update soywaker®. May God bless you. I hope that your fam is doing well also.

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Re: PRESENT!!


May 19, 2020, 9:27 AM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Internal Medicine physician here, and I have also taken care of Covid patients. This quote hits home....

“Not having equipment is shameful.‘

There’s plenty of blame to go around on this. How we allow overseas countries to control our meds and PPE is unconscionable. Congress should outlaw this practice YESTERDAY. But the blame doesn’t stop there. Also I point a finger directly at jack@ss hospital administrators who “saved” dimes by under ordering supplies that would protect the LIVES of the people keeping “their” hospitals afloat. All the while, acting like it’s no big deal to the nurses, “just use surgical masks”, while they cower in hospital offices. These guys are lower than scum in my eyes.

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Re: PRESENT!!


May 20, 2020, 1:51 AM

And probably getting paid like kings.

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Re: PRESENT!!


May 19, 2020, 12:29 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Soy, thanks for the update. Thanks for your work on the front lines, stay safe and God bless!

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Thank you so much for your efforts.


May 19, 2020, 12:32 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

May God continue to bless you and the essential care you provide.

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall


Glad to hear you’re well. We thought we were going to have a shortage but thankfully never did.


May 19, 2020, 11:22 PM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

Many thanks to the community. A chicken farmer came through with 100 or more n95 masks for us early on. We had tests pretty soon, enough too. But it took 10 days to get our first tests back. Down to 48 hrs now. Context: only 13 total in my county so far so blessed to be in that situation. Washington and New York must have been terrible and I was worried about you out in Cali. Thanks for checking in and God bless!


Message was edited by: lovingit®


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My experience mimics yours at the hospital I work at in NC


May 20, 2020, 12:11 AM [ in reply to PRESENT!! ]

As I'm part of management now, I was lucky enough to be involved in most of the daily conference calls involving "the decision makers" early on. Plain and simple - people were freaking out. But we were prepared (as best we could be) and ready for worst case scenario. I've worked in healthcare over 10 years now and have never been involved in anything like this before. But when we didn't get the predicted "surge", we were mostly relieved. It could have been much, much, much, much worse. As SOY said, the biggest issue was lack of PPE. We had (and have) plenty of equipment. But if we, the healthcare workers, started getting sick, it would have been a far different story. But to my knowledge, only a minuscule amount of employees ever contracted the virus. So, I'm not real sure what that means. Either the reused PPE that we had to wear worked, or, we as healthcare workers have a built up immunity against this coronavirus. But it's been an incredible learning experience, to say the least.

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