On August 20, 2020, I admitted my first COVID patient – Joseph, a 97 y/o Italian linguistics professor from a living facility where he contracted COVID. His daughter begged the ALF to give him hydroxychloroquine but they refused. On admission, he was clearly too far along to recover. In violation of hospital policy (and thanks to compassionate nursing staff), I was at least able to ensure that his daughter was at his side for the final days of his life.
On October 18, 2021, I discharged my last COVID patient – 60 y/o Steve, who had spent 40 days struggling with COVID pneumonia. If not for his loving, bulldog of a wife who fought hospital policy to stay by his side 24/7 (and give him ivermectin!) he most certainly would not have survived.