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He had to let patients know it was time to say goodbye to their families.
“The hardest part is being the person talking to the patient with Covid, who says, ‘You know what? It’s time to call your wife. We’re going to have to put on a breathing tube and it’s time for you. say goodbye, ”says Burkard.
Burkard, 28, and in his third year residency at Spectrum Health Systems in Grand Rapids, Michigan, did what it took to protect himself. He wore protective gear at work, a mask in his free time and remained socially distant, he says.
He ran five days a week, played and coached volleyball, ate a healthy diet and had no major underlying issues. If he was infected, he thought, everything would be fine.
“In fact, at one point I thought, ‘I just want to catch the virus and be done with it,'” he told CNN. “I thought there was no way I had to be hospitalized. I’m a healthy young man.”
‘I just couldn’t breathe’
And then came the illness and the positive result for Covid-19.
It started with a fever and a cough, and Burkard felt sick, but after three days things improved markedly. He knew the younger ones could be really sick with the virus, but it looked like he had dodged that bullet. Then the sixth day arrived.
“I got out of bed. I went to make a sandwich and move around my apartment a bit and I just couldn’t catch my breath,” Burkard said. “I just couldn’t breathe.”
He tested his own oxygen levels and he knew – as did his colleagues when he called – that he needed to be admitted.
He went to his own hospital, where so much was familiar but so new – and terrifying.
The isolation and loneliness of entering the Covid-19 unit. The suffocating sensation of being short of breath. The fear. It was all there, with no friends or family to allay his worries.
“I’m literally at work where I have a lot of friends and colleagues and not a single one of them could come and say hello,” Burkard said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to the nurses, phlebotomists and doctors who continued to treat me with a smile under their masks.
Burkard doesn’t know how he contracted the virus, but he knows it’s no joke. Two weeks after testing positive, he still cannot walk without having difficulty breathing.
He stayed home, where he had time to see social media reactions to his diagnosis from those who still do not believe in the reality of a virus that has killed over 250,000 Americans and infected 11 millions more.
“A lot of people said… I’m a hoax. I asked someone to report me on Facebook for being a fake profile,” he said.
He hopes some people will think twice about his experience.
“Instead of just saying mean things behind the keyboard, imagine what it was like to have this conversation with someone you were putting a breathing tube down their throat, and they might not be able to say “I love you” to her loved one again, ”he said.
Burkard says he loves being an emergency doctor, and he lights up when he talks about going back to work. It will have to wait until it is strong enough for the intense and trying changes. In the meantime, he feels guilty knowing that his colleagues are working so hard as the coronavirus hits more and more people.
Burkard says there are 300 Covid-19 patients in Spectrum Health, the region’s main healthcare system. This is the maximum they have had since the start of the pandemic, he adds.
Burkard’s interview with CNN was the first time he had left isolation in his apartment after leaving the hospital. It no longer spreads the virus, but any activity is still very difficult.
“I needed this. It’s nice to see people again,” said Burkard, slightly breathless as he started to walk the short distance home.
He asked everyone to take the advice – stay home, wear a mask, socialize outside, and sit at that Thanksgiving reunion to save lives and celebrate later.
And it hopes it can serve as an edifying tale.
“There is a lot more that we don’t know about this virus,” Burkard said. “Don’t take risks, no matter how healthy you are.”
CNN’s Jake Carpenter contributed to this report.
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