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Dr. Stephen Heyman doesn't know how he got COVID-19.
He probably never will.
But the Nashville physician wants Tennesseans to hear his story in hopes that it might change the minds of some people who refuse to take the virus seriously.
Sharing that story through a Zoom interview required some effort.
"I've got to slow down a little bit because my breathing is still a bit short," Heyman said as he adjusted his computer for the interview.
Dr. Stephen Heyman doesn't know how he got COVID-19.
He probably never will.
But the Nashville physician wants Tennesseans to hear his story in hopes that it might change the minds of some people who refuse to take the virus seriously.
Sharing that story through a Zoom interview required some effort.
"I've got to slow down a little bit because my breathing is still a bit short," Heyman said as he adjusted his computer for the interview.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 CAN be serious and cause serious conditions and even death in some instances. But so can a lot of other diseases such as cancer, heart disease, advanced kidney disease, diabetes, and many others. Accidents of many kinds can also mess a person up for a long time and sometimes even kill people. In short, many, many things can mess up how a person feels for much longer than a month or two.
While it pays to take precautions, especially if you're one of the more vulnerable to this disease, I don't think that it pays to obsess over it. I don't obsess over getting cancer, pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, falling off a ladder, or getting into a car wreck, but I do realize that such things are possible and that I should take certain precautions to reduce my risk. That doesn't mean I'm going to live my life in fear that one of these conditions is going to strike me, nor am I going to live in fear that I may catch Covid-19. While it is possible that I could experience serious medical conditions or perhaps even die from it, the odds are heavily in my favor that I won't.
Even if a person is a "senior citizen" (which I qualify for), the odds are pretty good that you WON'T suffer serious consequences unless you have some serious other ailment (comorbidity) that makes you more vulnerable. Even then, Covid-19 is not necessarily a death sentence, although the odds aren't as good for you as if you were healthy.
I'll sum it up this way. I don't expect to be killed while crossing the street, but I still look both ways before crossing. Respect things that can hurt you, but don't live your life in fear because to do so ruins your enjoyment of that life even if the dreaded thing you fear doesn't happen.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 CAN be serious and cause serious conditions and even death in some instances. But so can a lot of other diseases such as cancer, heart disease, advanced kidney disease, diabetes, and many others. Accidents of many kinds can also mess a person up for a long time and sometimes even kill people. In short, many, many things can mess up how a person feels for much longer than a month or two.
While it pays to take precautions, especially if you're one of the more vulnerable to this disease, I don't think that it pays to obsess over it. I don't obsess over getting cancer, pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, falling off a ladder, or getting into a car wreck, but I do realize that such things are possible and that I should take certain precautions to reduce my risk. That doesn't mean I'm going to live my life in fear that one of these conditions is going to strike me, nor am I going to live in fear that I may catch Covid-19. While it is possible that I could experience serious medical conditions or perhaps even die from it, the odds are heavily in my favor that I won't.
Even if a person is a "senior citizen" (which I qualify for), the odds are pretty good that you WON'T suffer serious consequences unless you have some serious other ailment (comorbidity) that makes you more vulnerable. Even then, Covid-19 is not necessarily a death sentence, although the odds aren't as good for you as if you were healthy.
I'll sum it up this way. I don't expect to be killed while crossing the street, but I still look both ways before crossing. Respect things that can hurt you, but don't live your life in fear because to do so ruins your enjoyment of that life even if the dreaded thing you fear doesn't happen.
Taking a simple, effortless precaution like wearing a mask, is far from "obsessing". In fact, your entire post reads like an off-topic rant.
Here's his health status, prior to Covid:
Quote:
"I’m healthy," the 62-year-old Heyman said.
"I have no medical comorbidities whatsoever, take no medicines other than turmeric, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium. You know, normal blood pressure, normal body weight, exercise. And I think that’s why I survived."
The opening to the article is misleading, though. It says he doesn't know how he got the virus, "and probably never will". Well, he was working in an intensive care unit at a hospital that was seeing patients flood in from surrounding counties and even from across state lines, because it was the only hospital near those patients, that was equipped to handle Covid. So he was a busy bee, on the front lines of the pandemic. We know how he got the virus.
Taking a simple, effortless precaution like wearing a mask, is far from "obsessing". In fact, your entire post reads like an off-topic rant.
Here's his health status, prior to Covid:
The opening to the article is misleading, though. It says he doesn't know how he got the virus, "and probably never will". Well, he was working in an intensive care unit at a hospital that was seeing patients flood in from surrounding counties and even from across state lines, because it was the only hospital near those patients, that was equipped to handle Covid. So he was a busy bee, on the front lines of the pandemic. We know how he got the virus.
Then I guess you're saying that wearing a mask didn't protect him, but it's a "simple, effortless precaution" that will protect others? Hmmm, seems like YOU are the one obsessing over mask wearing even though it didn't stop the OP from catching Covid-19.
So does avoiding smoking count as "obsessing" over lung cancer? Or is wearing seatbelts "obsessing" over the potential for injury or death in an auto accident? Neither guarantees anything - people who dont smoke sometimes get lung cancer and people who wear seatbelts can still die in car accidents- but those precautions have been shown to better one's chances of avoiding those particular things.
Then I guess you're saying that wearing a mask didn't protect him, but it's a "simple, effortless precaution" that will protect others? Hmmm, seems like YOU are the one obsessing over mask wearing even though it didn't stop the OP from catching Covid-19.
You are leaving out the fact that the majority of his colleagues have not caught the virus.
So does avoiding smoking count as "obsessing" over lung cancer? Or is wearing seatbelts "obsessing" over the potential for injury or death in an auto accident? Neither guarantees anything - people who dont smoke sometimes get lung cancer and people who wear seatbelts can still die in car accidents- but those precautions have been shown to better one's chances of avoiding those particular things.
I don't disagree that reasonable precautions can sometimes make a difference. Wearing a mask may also make a difference, but it won't guarantee that you won't catch the virus or that you won't transmit the virus to others if you are a carrier. If it makes you feel safer, then wear one, but I'm not going to have a nervous breakdown if I see someone who is not wearing a mask walking toward me in the supermarket aisle.
In the US, we have approximately 2.8 MILLION people die every year from a variety of causes. So far, with almost 6 months of "pandemic" behind us, we've had less than 150,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19, and many of those 150,000 are rather suspect as to whether that was the REAL cause of their death. And something like 46% of those 150,000 deaths that are attributed to Covid-19 are people in nursing homes with several comorbidities. My thinking is that if I'm creeping up on 90 years of age and I'm living in a nursing home and I haven't already done my "living", then it's a bit too late for me to start to worry about doing it now.
Then I guess you're saying that wearing a mask didn't protect him, but it's a "simple, effortless precaution" that will protect others? Hmmm, seems like YOU are the one obsessing over mask wearing even though it didn't stop the OP from catching Covid-19.
Nope. Not obsessing. But being surrounded by seriously ill Covid patients for hours/day for weeks would present a challenge, no matter what type of mask and other protective gear was worn. That's very different from the conditions present when out in public. I'm not sure why that needs to be explained.
I don't disagree that reasonable precautions can sometimes make a difference. Wearing a mask may also make a difference, but it won't guarantee that you won't catch the virus or that you won't transmit the virus to others if you are a carrier. If it makes you feel safer, then wear one, but I'm not going to have a nervous breakdown if I see someone who is not wearing a mask walking toward me in the supermarket aisle.
In the US, we have approximately 2.8 MILLION people die every year from a variety of causes. So far, with almost 6 months of "pandemic" behind us, we've had less than 150,000 deaths attributed to Covid-19, and many of those 150,000 are rather suspect as to whether that was the REAL cause of their death. And something like 46% of those 150,000 deaths that are attributed to Covid-19 are people in nursing homes with several comorbidities. My thinking is that if I'm creeping up on 90 years of age and I'm living in a nursing home and I haven't already done my "living", then it's a bit too late for me to start to worry about doing it now.
If you want this country to go back to anywhere near what used to be "normal" you should care that everyone is wearing a mask, keeping his distance, and washing his hands.
Not everyone in a care facility has one foot in the grave already.
If anything, the number of COVID-19 deaths is under reported.
Nope. Not obsessing. But being surrounded by seriously ill Covid patients for hours/day for weeks would present a challenge, no matter what type of mask and other protective gear was worn. That's very different from the conditions present when out in public. I'm not sure why that needs to be explained.
It doesn't need to be explained... at least not to me. I understand it fully. That's why I didn't get all panicky (as some here seem to do every time the subject of Covid-19 comes up).
Why should anyone assume that the conditions an average person might experience in day to day life are anywhere close to what a doctor working with CV patients would experience?
I think that some here just jump at every opportunity to play the "holier than thou" card when it comes to CV. Those are the ones who are "obsessing" in my opinion.
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My thinking is that if I'm creeping up on 90 years of age and I'm living in a nursing home and I haven't already done my "living", then it's a bit too late for me to start to worry about doing it now. 
