A New York nurse describes the terrible last words of a Covid-19 patient before his death.
Derrick Smith is a nurse from New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus in the United States. This Thursday, he posted the heartbreaking final words from a Covid-19 patient just before his death. More worried by the financial cost of his care than by his illness, he asked the nurse before being intubated: “Who will have to pay for this?”
On Facebook, Derrick expressed his despair. “I will never forget those last words. It was the patient’s response when he was told that he was going to have to be intubated and put on a ventilator”, he begins. “We then called his wife so that they could speak to each other in case it was the last time, as many patients do not wake up after being intubated …”
Then the nurse describes his own distress in the face of the chaotic situation. “This is the worst thing I have seen in 12 years of intensive care and resuscitation service. This country is adrift and it is really disgusting to witness it on the front line.”
Our colleagues from the Business Insider decided to give him the floor in order to criticize the American hospital system: “It is extremely sad to see someone worrying about their finances when they are probably going through their last moments” he denounces. He adds “There is a clear difference in how different countries contain the pandemic. Countries with universal publicly funded health care systems are better able to coordinate their responses and take care of those who are sick . They were the quickest to slow the spread of the virus. “
Before concluding by targeting President Donald Trump: “The duty of a government is to protect and support its citizens. This is clearly not what is observed here.”
New York State is the most affected across the Atlantic. Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that “New York State is by far the main focus of the American epidemic, with more than 7,000 deaths. It has recorded a new record increase in the last 24 hours (+799), but the number of new hospitalizations n has never been so low “
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