I think I posted about a month ago that both my Father-in-law and Mother-in-law were diagnosed with COVID. Neither of them had been vaccinated (because sick elderly people aren't a priority in Belgium).
Anyway, we were very concerned because my Father-in-law is:
A) 83 years old
B) A cancer patient with no immune system
C) Not vaccinated
It took about 7 days before he had to be admitted to the hospital (breathing trouble and low blood O2 levels).
Side note: The same hospital where he contracted COVID (Healthcare professionals there don't seem to care about things like hand washing BTW)
After about 3 days in the hospital he was put on Palliative Care and a day later they said, "He's in a coma and will die within hours."
Side note 2: They don't administer Remdesivir or do blood plasma treatments in Belgium.
Fast forward a few more days and he had improved slightly and moved to Hospice. While there he started a slow but steady improvement. Now (a month after contracting the virus) he is fully recovered. They are sending him home and his doctors are planning to restart his cancer treatments.
We all thought he had been dealt a death sentence but, he beat it. Through I believe, the power of prayer.
Side note 3: My Mother-in-law only experienced mostly mild symptoms and is fully recovered.
My mother in law contracted it last summer at age 86 with prior heart attack history.
Most fortunately she had milder symptoms. Spent some time in the hospital but not for any respiratory issues. Made a complete recovery. We had certainly feared the worst at the outset.
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But, other than that and oxygen, I don't know that there was much "treatment". Which is interesting but, I am not necessarily arguing with. He had DNR orders so, it is what it is.
He was on 10 litres of oxygen for most of the time. He's finally back down to 2 and may go off of it all together.
According to my Dr friend who oversees everything COVID at our areas largest hospital network, in the US immuno-compromised COVID patients are taken out of isolation after 20 days. In Belgium it's 25 days. So He's past that.
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Help me understand why he wasn't vaccinated?
He was not eligible before he contracted it. They are eligible now and my Mother-in-law has now received hers.
FWIW, Belgium did start vaccines about a week after the US, so getting a late start wasn't the problem. They prioritized front line workers, first responders, etc. You can draw your own conclusions. But to me this is what happens when you have Nationalized HC.
I don't care what kind of Health Care system one has, the vulnerable should have been the first in line for the treatment.
So it's a short step into marginalizing the elderly.
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the Belgians spend roughly half as much as we do for coverage...also, as you can see in the link, they can spend as much as they want on private care. The COVID-19 situation has stressed all HC systems...someone there made a "triage" type decision when it came to prioritizing, because they had to...again, so glad your family is okay.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Belgium
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20+ years. Thanks for the well wishes. Much appreciated!
With regard to the Belgian HC system...yes, the audience is not just you, but it does include you because I detected a preference for our current U.S. HC system which still doesn't cover all Americans and causes us to pay at least double that of any other developed country...was I right?
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So please stop.
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That was my last post intended to Ty in that thread anyways. So no harm no foul, It's all extremely good.
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