美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Houston doctor worked 715 days without a break once COVID was declared a pandemic

A Houston doctor worked 715 days without a break once COVID was declared a pandemic

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez catches up with Dr. Joseph Varon of Houston's United Memorial Medical Center about his reflections as we mark the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

What's it like to work more than 700 days in a row without a break? Dr. Joseph Varon knows. In the three years since COVID was declared a pandemic, the chief of critical care at Houston's United Memorial Medical Center spent most of that time in the emergency room that he manages. And he has seen a lot. Doctor, you have worked 715 days without a break. In sheer² physical terms, what kept you going?

JOSEPH VARON: I mean, you know, knowing that people were dying, people needed help and that nobody else wanted to care for patients. I mean, for us, it was so difficult to work in a situation where our own colleagues, our own friends would say, I'm not going into a COVID unit. I'm not going to go there because I'm risking my life. So somebody had to do it.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. But, I mean, you were risking your life, too. So what made you say, I'm just going to do it - out of obligation³ of being a doctor?

VARON: I mean, you know, I guess that's what I signed up for, for medicine, when I went into medical school. I mean, I didn't do it for the money. I did it for helping⁴ people. And somebody had to do it. If not, you know, it was a disaster that was going to happen, and, you know, more people were going to die.

MART?NEZ: I just want to be clear. You took a vacation - right? - when your child got married. So at least you got to see that, right?

VARON: Yeah, I was able to - marry my kid (laughter).

MART?NEZ: Perfect. Perfect. That works out, I guess. Now, I want to take you back to early 2020, before we really knew anything about the virus. What was it like getting up every morning and going into work those early days, when there was a lot of confusion⁵ going on?

VARON: You know, at the beginning it was, OK, this is going to end relatively⁶ soon, you know? This is just a small period of time. And eventually, this is not going to happen again. But at some point in time, you're starting to see every day is the same and the same and the same. And there is, like, no end in sight. That was the most scary situation. I mean, I would - you know, I would leave the home at 4:30, 5 o' clock in the morning. I would come back at 10 o' clock at night every single day. And, you know, phone call after phone call after phone call, people getting transferred to us from all over the place, I mean, a hospital that was full of patients. My nurses crying in the middle of the day because, you know, they would see two or three patients die back to back. I mean, it was tough.

MART?NEZ: And, Doctor, I'm sure patients and people just had questions for you. I mean, they look at you as a doctor for answers. What were you telling them?

VARON: The answers that we had at the time. You know, one of the problems that we had, as you well know, was COVID became a political show. it was not a medical issue; it was a political show. And the patients and the families didn't know who to believe. They would hear something from the president and something from Fauci, then something from the CDC or the, you know - or anybody else. And everybody was saying something completely opposite. So people were very confused - patients, families, everyone.

MART?NEZ: Now, over the course of the pandemic, I'm pretty sure you've had to push through a lot of grief⁷. And I got to believe, too, that you also saw some of the best of humanity⁸ as well. What sorts of coping mechanisms⁹ did you have to learn on the job, not only just from fellow responders but also from patients and their families as well?

VARON: Well, I mean, we saw everything. I mean, you know, we saw from people that were camping outside the hospital, literally¹⁰ camping, just to be close to their family members because we have this policy of not letting anybody in...

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

VARON: ...All the way up to us having to do things that would be different. I mean, for example, we did a music video in our own unit because I needed to keep my nurses all happy and be able to cope with what we're seeing every day. I mean, we looked at ways to help.

MART?NEZ: One of the toughest things I remember from that time is seeing family members look at their dying relatives through a window because that's as far as they can get to them.

VARON: It was terrible. I mean, you have no idea. I mean, being inside that unit, it changed my entire life.

MART?NEZ: So how has the pandemic changed emergency medicine and emergency care in broader terms?

VARON: Well, I mean, one thing that we have recognized is that nobody is in agreement anymore. We - you know, some people start doing something, and then you say, oh, maybe this is not the way to do it. I don't know if you remember when, you know, the governor of New York was asking for respirators, respirators, respirator.

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

VARON: And then we realized that, hey - guess what? Every time you put somebody on a respirator, they don't make it. So maybe we need to look at other ways to do things. So we started to think outside the box. And some of us did it quite well and had good results.

MART?NEZ: I remember when California sent respirators to New York, a lot of people in California were wondering, wait a second, what if we need the respirators here? And as you mentioned earlier, it became a political issue. Doctor, three years into the pandemic, nearly 7 million people have died worldwide, a little more than a million of those in the United States. Are we as a country and as a global community now better prepared for another outbreak or pandemic?

VARON: No, I don't think so. I think that we are the same level we were, if not worse, because we are more politicized. We are more divided. We don't have a uniform voice anymore.

MART?NEZ: Do you see any hope anywhere?

VARON: There is always hope. And, you know, as long as there are people like me that want to keep on helping people, we'll find a way.

MART?NEZ: Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of critical care at Houston's United Memorial Medical Center. Doctor, thank you.

VARON: Thank you so much. Bye-bye.

(SOUNDBITE OF HANDBOOK'S "CAN'T TALK NOW")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sheer   

adj.绝对的，全然的，峻峭的；v.躲开，躲避，使...避开； adv.完全，全然，峻峭

参考例句：

• He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will.他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
• I guess It'sheer waste of time arguing about it.看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。

3 obligation   

n.（法律、道德上的）义务，责任

参考例句：

• Every player is under an obligation to keep the rules.每个选手都必须遵守这些规则。
• It is the obligation of citizens to perform military service.服兵役是每个公民的义务。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。

8 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

9 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。