Posted on 10/12/2014 9:00:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Scary, unprecedented; Dallas is Ground Zero for Ebola.
We are Ground Zero now for a shattering series of firsts: The first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. The first to die of the terrifying disease.
And now, with news that a nurse who helped care for Thomas Eric Duncan is positive for the virus in preliminary tests, Dallas is the site of the nations first documented case of Ebola transmission.
Its scary. Its unprecedented.
Its also the occasion for a critical test of the relationship between citizens -- us -- and our political and medical authorities. Either we believe in truth and transparency, or we dont.
This is a tough job for said authorities. There are highly specific protocols for dealing with diagnosed Ebola patients, but dealing with an Ebola-spooked public remains a work in progress.
Our job is to trust them, and theirs is to avoid giving us reasons not to....
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
We always suggest to patients who are planning elective surgery to consider having their own blood drawn and stored in case it was needed. No matter how safe our blood supply is and how expert we are at typing and cross matching, it is far far better to receive your own blood.
On the transfusions the nurse is getting: they are not using whole blood or packed red blood cells. They are giving her plasma which is the component part of whole blood that contains the white blood cells and other infection fighting cells. Unless she were hemorrhaging copious amounts of blood, they would not transfuse PRBC or whole blood.
You were ahead of the medical community with your son.
I found it interesting that today the CDC made changes in their approach. At my hospital, we have been discussing those very changes from the beginning. Unfortunately, they are a day late and a dollar short for that poor nurse who is now fighting for her life.
Let us all keep her, and the health care workers at Presby Dallas, in our prayers.
I certainly will be praying for that young beautiful nurse and all the Medical Staff down there, my gosh the suspense & anguish they are living through. What a team, God Bless them.
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