Rocket Barber is a husband of one, father of three, a minister, a musician, an introvert, and writer who suffers from, in his own words, “a deplorable excess of vocabulary.” He has been published in a variety of locations and showcased a number of styles over the last 30 years. His credits include articles, commentaries, and short fiction for various online, print, and periodical publications, a children’s book, short and full-length screenplays, speech writing, a small poetry anthology, comedic literature, ghostwriting an NYT Bestseller, and once, the album liner notes for a #1 selling musical artist. Rocket currently lives in Granite Falls, NC. He pastors a small congregation at Anchor Church on Duke Street, and encourages you—yes, you—to drop by and say hello if you’re ever in town.
Stories From Our Unfortunate Incarceration
By Rocket Barber The following piece is an excerpt from a brief series of online entries composed and posted while my wife was hospitalized because of complications from COVID. The series began as a few lighthearted commentaries, largely comedic, heavily snarky, yet good-natured, tapped out upon my laptop as a way of passing the time and providing a few blissful moments of respite from the serious nature of my wife’s condition. As the conditions of our stay began to change, so did the nature of my writing. When they first admitted my wife, her room was on a floor that had two COVID patients. Within 48 hours of our arrival, they converted the entire floor to a COVID unit, complete with 25 positive patients in various stages of struggle. The ward was locked down as a safety precaution, creating a scenario where I could stay because I was already living on the unit round-the-clock while my wife was being treated and thus had already been exposed, but because of the lockdown provisions, I now could not leave to visit our children, grab a coffee, or get fresh air. If I left the room, I could not return. Unwilling to leave my wife to fight the virus and its complications alone, I resolved to stay. This led to many long hours of boredom as my wife slept between the bursts of frantic and anxious activity related to her care. In these long lulls, I wrote, I read, I studied my Bible, and perhaps most importantly, I had numerous conversations with the staff. Many of them said that having someone from outside the hospital with whom to speak during working hours was a breath of fresh air. Most had spent over 20 months treating extremely ill patients, most of whom were not allowed visitors, and a large percentage of whom could not communicate because of the toll the virus takes upon their bodies. These conversations, accompanied by my observations of the care they provided my wife and me, and in confluence with my unconventional means of coping, led to the article you are about to read. I hope it brings some perspective to the breadth of their function and purpose in a world so greatly changed by so much that we cannot see.
Stories From Our Unfortunate Incarceration: Part 6—September 6, 2021 This might sting a little, as the old saying goes. Let’s talk numbers for a moment. Since we have been here, we have seen 4 doctors. The ER doctor disclosed that he has personally treated over 3000 COVID patients this year. For the sake of this conversation, bear in mind that this does not include treatment for other ailments or injuries in the course of that time frame. The subsequent 3 doctors we have met since my wife’s admission have treated approximately 300 virus patients each in the same timeframe. Again, this does not include patients treated for other ailments in this hospital, nor does it count patients treated in the offices of their personal practices. The doctors visit each patient daily, and the average length of stay for a COVID patient in this hospital is 10 days. We have had 3 different respiratory therapists visit with us since admission. The respiratory therapists treat approximately 90 patients per 12-hour shift. We have had 4 different phlebotomists visit with us since our interment. One of them confirmed for us they draw blood from up to 120 patients per day, usually twice per day, but sometimes more often based upon doctor’s orders, in the course of a 12-hour shift. We have had 7 different Nurse Assistants. These nurses confirm that each nurse treats, on average, 20 patients per 12-hour shift, checking and recording vital signs at least every 6 hours, and performing general checks for wellbeing and personal needs a minimum of once every 2 hours, but often more frequently based on specific needs or calls for assistance outside of scheduled room visits.
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