Right now is a complicated time for the healthcare system. Hospitals are understaffed, undersupplied, and operating under special orders that make caring for patients possibly more difficult than it was before. As pandemic rages in the United States, causing turmoil and confusion, many people have chosen to avoid going to the doctor altogether, but sometimes you have no choice. When things get critical, you’ve got to go.
This was a decision that Myron Paine was going to face very soon. Myron and his wife Birdie lived together in a pleasant retirement community in the California Bay Area, and when word of COVID began spreading the whole complex was on high alert. News that the disease was more deadly for the elderly made all the folks living there especially uneasy, and for good reason. By March 20th, social distancing orders and stay at home restriction were rolling out, so Myron and Birdie made the decision to go stay with their daughter Tavee, who lived in the area. This would give them both closeness to family and a way to avoid being in such a densely populated living arrangement.
At this time Myron had been experiencing a growing pain in his stomach and developed an ever more concerning shortness of breath. As he packed up his CPAP machine the pain reached a point where his stomach felt bloated and firm, like someone had shoved an entire iron pot stove into his abdomen. The pain forced him to lay down for twenty minutes, his breath coming in short puffs. During this episode Myron wondered if they hadn’t made a mistake about moving to TaVee’s house. Myron was able to stand by the time TaVee arrived after dinner, and they packed up the cart and headed out.
TaVee had transformed her living room into a makeshift bedroom because Myron couldn’t get up the stairs, and she noticed a disturbing shortness of breath from him as they got things settled. Myron had complained of pain in his gut and was looking worse for wear. That night, Myron took his handful of pills that usually helped him through troubled waters, then drifted off to a fitful sleep. One that wouldn’t last.