Who gets the Ventilator???

Were Currently in a pandemic. Life has changed and things are spiraling. Social Distancing is urged, and yet it still is not being taken seriously by so many.  Schools, restaurants, and stores are closing. Sports, concerts, and other large events are canceled. It is scary. Stores are packed with shoppers who are panicking, and hording up supplies simply out of fear.  Its easy to get sucked into the chaos. I'm gonna share with you a few facts about the actual virus, and then my deepest darkest fear. 

* I will forewarn you this post is deep, dark, and brutally honest.*

  Did you know you can have the Coronavirus for 1-14 days before developing symptoms.  Once the virus is inside the body it begins infecting  epithelial cells in the lining of the lungs. A mild case of the virus includes fever and cough. More severe than the seasonal flu, and doesnt require hosptialization. The mild cases are because the bodies immune response is able to contain the virus in the upper respiratory tract. A Mild version of symptoms include dry cough, shortness of breath, fever and headache, muscle pain, tiredness comparable to the flu. This is why its often being written off as nothing more than a common cold. However statistics show 13.8% will have a severe case and 6.1%  will be critical cases. A severe case is  due to the virus trekking down the windpipe and entering the lower respiratory tract where it seems to prefer growing.  The lungs are the major target. As the virus continues to replicate and journeys further down the windpipe and into the lung, it causes more respiratory problems such as bronchitis and pnuemonia. 

 When Pneumonia occurs with this virus its basically a war between the host response and the virus. Depending who wins the war there is a good outcome where the patient recovers or a bad outcome where they dont. 

As oxygen is restricted to the bloodstream it deprives major organs of oxygen including the liver, kidneys, and brain. 

 

A small number of severe cases it can develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which requires a patient to be placed on a ventilator to supply oxygen. If too much of the lung is damaged and not enough oxygen is supplied to the rest of the body respiratory failure could lead to organ failure and death.  This outcome is uncommon for the majority of patients infected. 

Those most at risk to severe developments are older than 70 and have weak immune responses. Others at risk include people with pulmonary abnormalities, chronic disease, or compromised immune systems. 

The US and other countries face a critical  shortage of ventilators, a Life saving machine. 

So I ask you this if things get BAD, who gets the ventilators??

Ya'll remember a few years ago the outrage at Iceland for attempting to eradicate Down Syndrome??

Also there is the controversy of whether individuals with Down Syndrome should be able to receive a organ transplant with a doctor saying he would " rule them out" because they have a lower life expectancy.

 Dr. Arthur Caplan, the director of medical ethics for New York Universitys Langone Medical Center said  " If the potential recipient is severely intellectually impaired...I do not consider it to make sense to consider that child for a transplant."

I know were talking about a virus, not a transplant or eradicating Down Syndrome. Forgive me for feeling this is important. This is why Connor hasnt been in a store in over two weeks. This is why you will not see him in public under any circumstance. This is why we are MIA right now. We are locked in tight. Connors lungs could not take the hit. God forbid things got severe it would be BAD. His immune system, his lung scarring,his history of  reoccurring pnuemonia, I need to do everything in my power to try to ensure he doesnt get the dreaded Coronavirus. 

I have to do everything in my power to protect him, because if the last ventilator were between him and a typical child,even if he were worse, Im not confident he would get it.  Thats sadly the world we live in. He deserves the same chance as anyone else. How, how can we live in a world where so many still dont see that. Where he will always be considered less worthy ( by some).  A world where things would be fine, unless we run out. Should we run out of a life saving machine im not confident my child would get a chance simply because he has a intellectual disability, there is so much wrong with that.  The fact that I even have to think of him being discounted literally because of who he is leaves me broken. Broken for this sweet boy, but also broken for this world. Oh the beauty so many are missing out on because their too blind to see people as more than their diagnosis, more than their disability, more than their differences. 

 I'm not trying to scare anyone, I simply want to make you think. Ponder on it. If things get bad, who gets the ventilator??