Dr. Craig Spencer Is A Hero

[UglyGreed]

I as a New Yorker I am proud that Doctor Spencer has the compassion, empathy, and guts to help those infected by Ebola in Guinea.

You sir are a true doctor and a great benefit to the medical community. I pray that you will recover and the haters will leave you and your family alone.

[peace13]

1. Now...if he can just learn what 21 day quarantine means....

He can protect the rest of humanity for that short time!

[magical thyme]

2. oh FFS, he wasn't on a 21-day quarantine. He was on 21-days of self-monitoring

which he did in good faith.

He, more than you or anybody else here at DU, understands the signs and symptoms of Ebola and knows how it spreads. As soon as he showed symptoms, he self-quarantined and called MSF and the CDC.

But since you're so much more knowledgeable and so much smarter and so much more conscientious than Dr. Spencer is, here's an idea. Why don't you go to medical school, become a doctor, and then go risk your life taking care of people on the other side of the world.

Even better, since the epidemic is happening right now, and won't wait 8 years for you to make it through med school, why don't you just go volunteer to build facilities, or clean them, or remove dead bodies or whatever else it is that you are qualified to do?

[riderinthestorm]

6. + 1000 The fear mongering and hatefulness towards these HCW on DU is sad nt

[peace13]

7. Ebola patient's Ohio visit prompts state to issue heightened quarantine guidelines as precautionary

I guess if the doctor treating people with Ebola never came into contact with a patient without full protective gear he/she would fit into the monitoring guideline. My bad. If he does have the disease....my guess is that he did come into contact with someone, somewhere along the line.

If you really want to help people to understand, you may want to reread your response to me and see how it comes off. Have a happy life. May you always be surrounded by people who look out for you.


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State health officials on Thursday issued new quarantine recommendations for county and local health departments in an effort to ratchet up monitoring of potential contacts with Ebola.

The guidelines call for quarantine for any person who had direct contact with a confirmed Ebola patient. They also recommend lesser levels of monitoring for those with other forms of interaction, including for people who were in the vicinity of the Ebola patient.

More here.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/10/ebola_patients_ohio_visit_prom.html

[kestrel91316]

26. Ohio laws do not apply in NY. Just sayin'.

But it makes perfect sense to have different levels of watchfulness and restriction of activity based on actual exposure risk.

CDC already has those different levels and has for some time. Glad Ohio sees fit to finally follow them now.

[peace13]

32. I posted the link to help the kind person ....

see that if I was confused it was only because I had different information than the he/she regarding protocol. I won't argue with you though, Ohio and NY have different laws. Disease however has universal law and we need to start thinking like a disease and get a program that works in States/ Countries with different names.

The best news is that when we put our best efforts forward fewer good, kind doctors will have to put their lives on the line!

[jen63]

41. Yes, and my state is nuts.

They are quarantining any one who touched some one who has ebola, even if that person was asymptomatic. THAT IS NUTS! Kasich is nuts.

[pangaia]

9. I do not see peace 13 showing hatred or fear mongering.

He or she may be right or wrong but. hatred?.. fear mongering?

I just don't see that.

[magical thyme]

13. I didn't write anything about hatred or fear mongering

I did see unnecessary snark and insult toward a doctor who took on great risks to help others in desperate need.

Personally, I think a 21 day quarantine would be a good thing, but I also suspect it would be totally impractical.

[pangaia]

39. You are absolutely right.

I must have replied to the wrong post.
My bad and apologies.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

11. +1

nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

22. "which he did in good faith."

Demonstrably insufficient.

[magical thyme]

25. Officials say Craig Spencer closely followed all protocols after returning from West Africa

Officials say Craig Spencer closely followed all protocols after returning from West Africa; his fever wasn't nearly as high as first reported
http://www.cbsnews.com/

Not sure what you mean by "demonstrably insufficient." If you are referring to his Ebola infection, the health care workers don't wear biohazard suits 24x7, and they don't live or work in total isolation.

If you are referring to his symptom monitoring, his symptoms didn't start until Thursday morning and he reported them immediately. There are only 4 people considered at risk, his fiancee being at the highest risk and 2 friends with him on Thursday morning. He did not ride public transit to the hospital; he traveled by an escorted ambulance.

[karynnj]

33. Where is that demonstrated?

Note the FULL sentence - he SELF MONITORED in good faith.

This does mean that when he jogged and when he went bowling, he still had no fever - and was not contagious per what doctors have said. In fact, it is likely that the ONLY person with him after he ran a fever, not protected, was his fiancee.

Written by a mother of a daughter, who takes the A train from Manhattan to the Bronx for her PHD classes and a daughter, who spends her weekends in Brooklyn while studying for her PHD on Long Island.

[Texasgal]

30. [phone]!

GREAT POST!

The absolute distain for HCW's here on DU is just disgusting!

Thank you!

[morningfog]

3. He did not put any of humanity at risk. Not one fucking person outside of the isolation unit

was at risk.

[kestrel91316]

14. What official quarantine did he violate??

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(crickets chirping)


He monitored himself after returning and as soon as he developed a clear indication that something wasn't right, he contacted medical authorities.

When and if we institute a mandatory QUARANTINE upon return, then you can get all nasty about him presuming to have a life. Not until then.

[peace13]

23. Please see post #7

You do need to read to keep those crickets at bay! : )

[polichick]

21. Really.

[UglyGreed]

4. Embola is more like AIDS than

the Flu at this point in time. The hysteria over Ebola reminds me of the hysteria over AIDS. I had a friend who die of AIDS in the late 80s and of course I did not catch it.

[seabeyond]

12. +1. nt

[mountain grammy]

18. Yes, the AIDS epidemic, thousands died while Reagan did nothing.

NOTHING!!! Oh well, must be Obama's fault anyway...

[LeftInTX]

38. I think Ebola hysteria is a bit worse

Maybe because of the internet and 24 hour news. The good news is I think Ebola hysteria will dampen in the next few months, even while more cases occur in the US. I think the public will have a more realistic perception.

The AIDS hysteria took years to settle down. I think with AIDS there were real concerns when the blood supply and blood products became tainted etc.

[cali]

5. so is dr. kent brantley- and yet he was excoriated by many DUers

Why? Because he was working with ebola patients as part of a Christian group. I really hated seeing that here.

[magical thyme]

8. agreed. and I was dismayed by how many did not want to bring back the staff

from Africa to be treated here.

[boston bean]

10. Nina Pham and Amber Vinson are heroes as well.

Although they were castigated for having bad hand washing skills and not knowing how to protect themselves from infection. The shit I read made me sick.

Add that Amber Vinson was vilified for traveling even though the CDC said it was ok, and her employer and health professionals telling both her and Pham that their risk of contracting was minimal.

Funny how things work, aint it. Especially when a seemingly liberal white bro is the HERO in all of this. Even though he broke with self isolation procedures. Whatever. People will be people.......

[seabeyond]

15. someone of us do not pin the stupid on any of the people that became infected.

addressed the issue. and contained.

i watched a pbs 27 minute video of doctors without borders addressing the day to day, of ebola. and death. it was powerful. everyone should watch, when they want to ignore facts. i admired all the people, putting their life at risk, for their fellow person.

even duncan. and i was his role in bringing it to dallas. he got it, helping a dying woman.

the risk, is when the person is on deaths bed. that is not, most of us.

[kestrel91316]

17. I'm pretty sure returnees are NOT told to hole up at home and not go anywhere for 21 days.

But please correct me if I'm mistaken.

[UglyGreed]

42. Yes that is not

right, judge the person's act not his acquaintances.

[hamsterjill]

16. I believe there are heroic acts, but not so much heroes.

What Dr. Spencer did while in Guinea was a heroic thing to do. That cannot be diminished.

What he did when he returned to New York, not so much. I don't mean to say that I think he has intentionally exposed others. I just believe that as an educated M.D. himself, he might have been more prudent in his actions after his return.

I don't feel that we need to make everyone a hero. Many times, human beings do heroic things at one point in their lives only to return to being completely "normal and mundane" beyond that. Much like Thomas Duncan, I believe it was a heroic thing for him to have helped the ebola patient prior to leaving Liberia. It wasn't so much heroic that he answered a pertinent question with an incorrect answer, or that he boarded a plane to the United States.

So, as expected, most "heroes" are just ordinary men and women who find themselves in brief, extraordinary circumstances for a period of time and perform above and beyond what others might do. Then they return to normalcy.

[UglyGreed]

43. I see people

attacking him on online for what he did after he came home. Even going as far that he should not have gone to help these poor people, which IMO is not right.

At this point Ebola is not airborne so again IMO he did not harm anyone. Once showing symptoms he did the right thing and got medical attention.

There must be some balance and people must understand what Ebola is. He has done a heroic act and I feel he should be recognized for doing so.

[Marrah_G]

19. I agree, he is a hero and he knows the disease well

In fact he knows the disease better then anyone here. Yet people think this man who risked his life working in the hell that is the west african medical systems to save lives came back here and exposed people. That is not he case. He knows when it is contagious and he did exactly what he was supposed to do.

Those people who want to be afraid, will be afraid no matter what anyone says. They will continue to insist that the plague is coming to America and we are all going to die.

There has been exactly ONE death from Ebola in the US. ONE.

If you want to freak out, freak out over something that actually kills people in America.

[valerief]

20. How many of us would, had we the medical training, be willing to risk

our lives to save others?

Yes, I know that's what soldiers are supposed to do and many believe they do it, as they're told over and over again, but we know they're only protecting the property interests of the PTB.

This doctor and others like him have to be a special kind of person to fight disease and, in that course, to save lives. They must have a certain immortality mindset to do this work. If that's what it takes, then so be it. This doctor must have still have had that mindset when he came home. Given that, he acted very responsibly from what I've learned.

I don't want ebola to spread so much that I'm at risk for it, and I applaud these disease warriors for their risk-taking and knowledge, things I don't have.

[UglyGreed]

44. Great post

not many and I tip my hat to those who are brave enough to do so.

[markpkessinger]

24. I have been appalled at the judgment and second-guessing of Dr. Spencer

The doctors who work under the auspices of Doctors Without Borders (DWB) -- my sister-in-law's brother, Dr. Richard Long of Providence, RI, has in the past gone to Africa with DWB -- are ALL heroes. These doctors, in an act of selfless humanity and dedication to the highest calling of their profession, volunteer their services, and personally pay for all of their own travel expenses as well as any expenses incurred during their time in a particular location, working weeks or months at a time in often appalling conditions, and in some cases -- such as the current Ebola outbreak -- putting their lives on the line. They ALL deserve much better than what has been heaped on Dr. Spencer.

I am also a New Yorker, and am likewise very proud of Dr. Spencer. I am also extremely proud of my city, and grateful to our Mayor, our Dept. of Health and the FDNY for the truly remarkable level of preparedness they demonstrated in responding to this first case. The FDNY has 30 teams around the city specially trained to transport Ebola patients as well as performing any necessary cleaning up of their residences, as well as five hospitals with specially equipped and trained units dedicated to treating such patients.

Ebola hysteria has rendered us rather like a bunch of 12-year-olds at a sleepover, scaring each other witless with ghost stories. Much of the panic, interestingly enough, seems to be coming from those who are outside of New York. And that reminds me a bit of the aftermath of 9-11, when New Yorkers set about the task of cleaning up the mess, and much of the rest of the country fell into a fit of collective pants-shitting.

[karynnj]

34. Fantastic post - the 911 analogy really hits me as true as well

Here's hoping the excellent work of the NYC authorities and hospital system result in a healthy, courageous doctor and no cases stemming from it.

[Demit]

35. Very good post!

Too many melodramatic armchair quarterbacks here. I would love to know how many of them, if they learned they'd been 'potentially exposed' to a person who wasn't even symptomatic, would cheerfully & unhesitatingly take the financial hit from quarantining themselves for three weeks. All. Three. Weeks.

[MontyPow]

27. Why aren't the fear mongers here at DU labelled trolls.

All I have to write is that I want to convince DUers to vote for better Dems not simply more Dems and I get alerted and a Jury of my "peers" censors me.

Pathetic.

[librechik]

28. He is absolutely a hero

Would I have taken public transportation and gone bowling?

No. I'm a real nervous Nelly. I would have waiten the 21 days before going out, and limited all contact, and worn gloves gown and mask around others.

So if I started having symptoms, i would be fairly sure i hadn't exposed anyone and feel like a shit.

But that's just me.

[Demit]

36. So your boss would be ok with that?

Assuming your place of employment would be willing to hold your job for you, would they be paying you for the three weeks? Or would you be cheerfully using your own vacation time?

[librechik]

37. I'm pretty sure my bosses would agree.

They don't want to get contaminated either.

[peace13]

29. I apologize for my comments upstream.

You are correct that it takes all of that to commit to helping people infected with a deadly disease. It is amazing that people put their own lives at risk to help others. Dr. Spencer showed true courage in his commitment and for this I have the utmost respect for him.

The best day will be when doctors such as he can help implement a program to keep the disease from following health officials home. I say this not out of hysterics or irrational fear of Ebola but out of concern for a global community that can take something such as Ebola and spread it worldwide in a very short time without careful planning and care. You don't have to be a hater to wish that clear guidelines would be set to keep everyone safe and healthy.

[matt819]

31. Well. . . um. . . maybe not

First of all, I dislike the use of the word hero for just about everything.

Yes, he volunteered (I assume it was time volunteered) his time and took the risks.

But then he did something really, really stupid, costing New York City a ton of money and resources. Stupid hero? That doesn't sound as good.

All he had to do was stay home for 21 days. Not easy, but if he was such a hero, he would have done it. I'm sorry, I don't call that being heroic. I call that being selfish and stupid.

[uppityperson]

40. I appreciate his checking in with 100.3 fever, lower than what CDC recommends, as well as working

with MSF. By calling for help early, he made sure he would be isolated before he became contagious.


Best wishes, fast recovery to him.