Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

COVID: an impending case of the stripes

Hailey Amick, MD
Physician
May 15, 2020
517 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Elise loves this book. The protagonist is a girl who, due to a desire to fit in with her friends, denies her love of lima beans. Camilla awakens with stripes on her skin, and no one can explain it. The doctors are called in, then the specialists. The scientists and experts come next, but all are stumped. As the stripes worsen, her life spirals out of control until a wise woman happens by and advises that the real treatment for fitting in is to embrace yourself. Camilla eats lima beans, and the stripes are cured. Everyone lives happily ever after.

How creative, I’ve always mused. We see a lot of spots in medicine, things we call viral exanthems. There are chickenpox and Epstein Barr virus, measles, and rubella. They decorate their victims with polka dots of various shapes and sizes. Lyme disease paints a bullseye on the skin, or you can get endless sorts of pustules, macules, papules, plaques, petechia, and purpura. There are rashes of every shape and size, but I’ve never seen stripes.

Until lately.

Corona sounds like it would be a spot. Circular, like a crown or circlet. But despite its name, it makes stripes, and they manifest in interesting ways. Stripes are apparent on the cheeks of family members of the affected, streaking them with their tears. Stripes mark the faces of caregivers like myself, bruised edges from wearing PPE all day. They reassure me: I know I had a good seal.

And if you can look closely enough, you see them on the patients as well. I intubated a man in the ICU this morning who probably had COVID (test pending) and definitely had a heart attack, days ago, but he was too scared to come to the ER. He’d lost the function of a wall of his heart; it hung in a limp line, a stripe if you will, while the remainder of the cardiac muscle strained around it trying to compensate.

His countenance was resigned as I stood over him, assuring him I’d take care of him. I think we wondered the same question: Was mine was the last face he’d ever see? Was mine the last voice he’d ever hear, muffled as it was behind my PAPR. I wish I’d been able to tell him he would be okay, but that wasn’t possible. All I could do was tell him that he mattered, and we would do our best. The muscles of his face were tense, with worry and fear, the wrinkles burrowing into deep stripes. Stripes everywhere before my paralytic took over, and my anesthetics wiped them away.

I wonder what will happen as we begin this process of relaxing restrictions. It is a difficult decision our society is making, and I don’t have the answer. I just know I’ll be seeing a lot more stripes, and unfortunately, we don’t have enough lima beans.

Hailey Amick is an anesthesiologist who blogs at Facing Monsters. 

Image credit: Hailey Amick

Prev

When chlamydia became TMI

May 15, 2020 Kevin 2
…
Next

Don’t drink the COVID conspiracy Kool-Aid

May 16, 2020 Kevin 5
…

Tagged as: COVID, Hospital-Based Medicine, Infectious Disease, Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
When chlamydia became TMI
Next Post >
Don’t drink the COVID conspiracy Kool-Aid

More by Hailey Amick, MD

  • Anesthesia touches nearly every area of medicine

    Hailey Amick, MD
  • The sensory limitation of wearing masks

    Hailey Amick, MD

Related Posts

  • Where’s the big COVID data?

    Anuradha Kolluru, MD and Rakesh Lattupalli, MD
  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • Birthing in the era of COVID

    Jennifer Roelands, MD
  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • The COVID vaccine selfie: The caption matters as much as the picture

    Alicia Billington, MD, PhD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Physician

  • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Discover the power of patience

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Physician return-to-work policies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

    Joseph Barrera, MD
  • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

    Anonymous
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Authorized by FDA
  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • FDA Advisors to Consider DFMO Maintenance for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Kids
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D

Meeting Coverage

  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D
  • Low Relapse Rates With Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Treatment
  • Menopause Can Negatively Affect Women's Careers
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

COVID: an impending case of the stripes
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...