2 minute read
Editor’s Letter
The Test
A young woman I know came down with a set of symptoms earlier this year. The good news is that it wasn’t Covid-19 related. The bad news is that no one knows, even after many examinations and tests, exactly what it is. Presenting with dizziness and a number of GI issues, her healthcare journey has been long and frustrating. She has been to a primary, a gastroenterologist, an ENT, two neurologists, an ophthalmologist, a psychiatrist, a neuro-ophthalmologist, an infectious disease specialist, a balance center and a vestibular therapist. This last professional has provided the most relief, but it is only part NEIL GREENBERG of a complex treatment regimen that includes anti-anxiety and other medications. Thank goodness she’s feeling better, but this could be a chronic condition. At 25, that’s a lot to deal with, especially if you’re used to robust good health and had no hint of this before. Why do I mention this? Because dizziness and GI problems are relatively common, and you would expect that somewhere in that menu of specialists someone would be able to clearly identify what’s going on and provide treatment and reassurance. How much more challenging is it, then, to go after a completely new disease, one that is threatening and occasionally deadly, one that can spread quickly, against which there is no defined countermeasure (yet), and little in the way of protection? Yet that is the conundrum we face. And, in the face of this rude surprise, the healthcare industry has risen to the challenge and is making extraordinary progress. Around the world, companies, governments, universities, organizations and other entities are working around the clock, both to treat patients and to discover a weapon against Covid-19. There are dozens of trials, many of them promising, and we may have a vaccine faster than one has ever been discovered before. In a chaotic time like this, we keep saying things like “You could not make this up.” Even novels and movies about epidemics have not had plots as frightening and inspiring as what we are experiencing in real life. But that’s what has brought us to the amazing proof of what people can do when faced with an implacable enemy that must be defeated. And it’s the greatest test of the wisdom, determination and communal effort that our industry has ever had to deal with. Here’s to everyone on the front lines, and behind the scenes. We owe them more than we will ever be able to repay.
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Neil Greenberg, Editor
