Over the weekend her grandchild ran a 105 fever and the child's mom called her for advice. Birx described trying to coach the mother about how to listen to the child's lungs, etc., but did not go check out the grandchild.
She said, "I couldn't risk bringing the disease back to these people who are doing vital work" as she gestured toward the people on the podium with her, including the President, Vice President, and Dr. Fauci. She added, "We're all making very difficult sacrifices during this time."
Imagine a grandmother who is a physician doing what she did ... I'm impressed.
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Remember how awed we were with first responders - firefighters and police - who rushed into the World Trade Center on 9-11 with the building burning above them and about to fall? I'm starting to feel the same way about medical personnel who day after day go to work at hospitals where people are coughing and dying of Covid 19.
The doctors, nurses, and the specialized technicians whose job titles we only learn if we're under their care, all these deserve our admiration and thanks. Theirs is some serious bravery, and sadly hundreds of them will die as a result of their professional commitment.
A family friend's daughter will soon graduate from a university nursing program in Texas. She won't have trouble finding work. Imagine how her mother feels about now ... both proud and terrified, at a guess.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who won the struggle to take the U.K. out of the EU and a clear majority in parliament, has been taken to Intensive Care with Covid 19. To win so much was wonderful, to then become the first national leader to succumb to the pandemic is likely an honor he'd rather not win.
I've been impressed with Johnson's nationalism, energy and style. I wish him well, in every sense.
