They say only death and taxes are certainties in this life. I agree. I experienced a heft dose of both recently.
While recovering from COVID I was scheduled for call. I thought it'd be fine. My last call I had a not busy after hours clinic and no calls overnight. This time it was a disaster from the get go. This "COVID only kills old people!" thing. People must not have grandparents or parents or anything. "Less than 5 resident deaths". 4 is technically less than 5 so the report is not incorrect, but what an unsettling way to declare that 4 people died in discomfort and gasping for breath when they should have had timely, peaceful deaths.
The resident and I palliated 2 patients, told 2 families that their loved one was gone due to COVID, and wrote death sentences for 2 more patients who got COVID but couldn't take the COVID medication because of nursing shortage and resource shortages. Not because they don't qualify, because I don't have nurses who can give IV meds. Is this what it has come to.
I had less patients die on palliative care than on a single call shift. COVID isn't over. Not by a long shot.
On a marginally less gruntled note, I paid taxes for the first time. I've always had tuition credits and other benefits/lower income that the government gave me money back. This time I paid them. In enough of an amount that I couldn't actually pay it all at once because the website doesn't allow it. (C'mon CRA don't you want my money?) But they made it very hard. The website just wouldn't take my money!
