Counting the Uncounted, Part II: Did Isolation Fuel Medical Errors and Deaths?
When we first asked, “How many people were isolated during COVID?” the numbers shocked even us.
This was not rare. It was systemic.
But these estimates raise a deeper, even more unsettling question: Did enforced isolation increase the number of people who died due to medical mistakes?
Counting the Uncounted: Estimating How Many Patients Were Isolated During COVID-19
When my wife, Elizabeth, was hospitalized in March 2020, she was kept in isolation for the entire 21 days until her death. She was just 40 years old. Our two sons never got to say goodbye, and I never got to hold her hand in her final moments.
Our story isn’t unique. Across the country, patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and care facilities were cut off from their loved ones. Some survived. Many did not. And here’s the staggering truth: no one has ever officially counted how many Americans endured this isolation.
We have charts showing cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. But the most human number of all—the number of people denied the presence of family—remains invisible. Unless we confront it, those in power can continue to dismiss these stories as “isolated tragedies.” The reality is the opposite: isolation was systemic.
Advocating for Patients' Visitation Rights: A Guide to Getting State Legislation Passed
Visitation rights for patients are an important aspect of healthcare, as they allow loved ones to provide emotional support and be a part of the care team during a person's stay in the hospital or long-term care facility. Not to mention the clear health benefits of having someone there and the detriment of isolation. However, these rights are not always guaranteed, and in some cases, patients may be denied the ability to have visitors. So how does one get legislation in their state?
October 2, 2021 Update
I'm sure you all will tell me, "No need to apologize," but I need to apologize for not providing more frequent updates.
Grief is a terrible thing.
I once read an article about widow's fog, the brain fog that comes after losing a spouse.
Report Update
I got Elizabeth’s autopsy report, couldn’t make sense of it, so I just got off the phone with her main pulmonary doctor (Dr. Todd Bull):
Basically at some point between 4:30-4:40 (I asked for the exact time), a blood clot hit her lung, her heart rate dropped to around 40 beats, she almost passed out. Within 2-3 minutes of her nurse leaving her room, Dr. Bull walked into the room and saw her on her hands and knees. She looked up, tried saying something and when they got her into the bed, she went into cardiac arrest.
It helps to know that Dr. Bull (by far her favorite physician on her team) was there and that she recognized him. It also helps to know that she wasn’t on the floor for 10+ minutes like I feared.
NOW, the autopsy report clearly showed that her lungs were worse than the last time they scanned them, her heart showed enlargement and weakening, she had a kidney stone that they didn’t scan (she complained her tailbone hurt for at least 7 days prior), she had scarring from acid reflux (something they never officially diagnosed), she had a benign nodule in her abdomen, her pericardial sack was turning fibrous, and her lymph system was very inflamed ...
Yes, she made the best of the 21 days she was alone in the hospital ... but CLEARLY the forced isolation was a detriment to her condition by the way her heart weakened and her lungs got worse. #NeverAgain
Next steps are starting to talk to congressman, senators, and the connections my network has within the White House.
#NeverDieAlone #NeverRecoverAlone #NeverBirthAlone #NoChildAlone#NeverSickAlone #NeverERAlone
