'I cannot save everybody': Houston doctor fights newest COVID-19 surge

'I cannot save everybody': Houston doctor fights newest COVID-19 surge

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The scene inside United Memorial Medical Center in Houston has become all too familiar: Overwhelmed medical staff fighting to curb the wave of COVID-19 patients that come through the hospital’s doors every day.

While in earlier pandemic hot spots like New York the medical emergency has subsided, Texas is among the many U.S. states battling a resurgence of the virus that is straining their healthcare systems.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Dr. Varon goes over the files of patients infected with the COVID-19 at a daily meeting with his team of healthcare workers.

Dr. Joseph Varon, the chief medical officer of United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC,) said he is afraid he will soon face a dilemma many doctors elsewhere said they confronted earlier in the pandemic: Deciding who to save.

"I'm afraid that at some point in time I'm going have to make some very serious decisions," he told Reuters in an interview. "I'm starting to get the idea that I cannot save everybody."

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
A death note written by Dr. Varon about a COVID-19 patient who died while being intubated.

Varon, 58, is overseeing the hospital's unit dedicated to COVID-19 patients, where he said he tends to an average of 40 people a day. He said he signed more death certificates in the last week than at any point in his career.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Dr. Varon stretches his legs before treating COVID-19 patients.

Earlier this month, Reuters followed the lung and critical care specialist on a shift as he hurried through the hallways - a small cohort of nurses and medical students in tow - pausing to inspect X-rays or medical charts and check on patients, at times offering them words of comfort or reaching out to hold their hand.

Many of those in Varon's COVID-19 unit needed nasal tubes to help them breathe, some required intubation.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Dr. Varon and a team of healthcare workers perform CPR on a COVID-19 patient.

In the afternoon, the physician and his team rushed to resuscitate a patient, performing CPR on the man who was later pronounced dead. Medical personnel covered his body in white sheets and wrapped it in a biohazard bag.

As the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the nation for months showed little signs of abating, healthcare workers on the frontlines often fall prey to the virus that has killed around 150,000 people in the United States.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
An X-ray of a COVID-19 patient's lungs.

Varon's team is no exception. Christina Mathers, a 43-year-old nurse at UMMC, (pictured in the first photograph) was told she tested positive for COVID-19 last week after she reported feeling ill during her shift.

"That's the hardest thing to ever hear... It messes with you," said Mathers, who has been working every other day since April 29. "But I wouldn't go anywhere else but here."

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Varon speaks to Henry Rodriguez, 39, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19.

Varon, who was a hospital intern when a huge quake struck Mexico City in 1985, said dealing with the virus has been incredibly challenging for medical professionals.

"Throughout my life, I have been in major disasters," he said. "Nothing has been as difficult to deal with (as) COVID."

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Harrison lies on a hospital bed as he watches television.

Riley Harrison, 67, said he started feeling out of breath at work and that he struggled to get enough air in his lungs to call his wife, who also contracted the virus. Now, they are both hospitalized at UMMC.

"I couldn't breathe," Riley said in a whisper as oxygen flowed through tubes in his nose.

"If you got a death wish, play with COVID."

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Raudales sits on a hospital bed as she is checked on by 26-year-old medical student Fernando Olvera.

Medical experts and officials have been sounding the alarm on the growing number of young people who are falling ill with COVID-19, warning they should not discount it as a virus dangerous for elderly people alone.

Eighteen-year-old Larissa Raudales had trouble breathing and said her lungs hurt when she was taken to UMMC. With medication, she was starting to feel better.

"I was terrified... I thought I couldn't breathe anymore," she said. "I just thought I was going to practically die right there."

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Nurse Flor Trevino, 39, prepares the body of a patient who died during an intubation procedure.

Texas, along with California and Florida, has emerged as one of the new national hot spots. So far in July, the state has more than doubled its cases to over 400,000 total. Deaths rose by 32%, or over 1,000 lives lost, in the last week alone. But lately the number of new cases has slowed and hospitalized COVID-19 patients are down from record highs.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
A television shows the news inside a laboratory.

Dr. David Persse, the health authority for the Houston Health Department, said hospitals in the area were "struggling" as they dealt with a shortage of personnel to tackle a crisis that has been dragging out for months.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Medical school student Fernando Olvera, 26, helps Efrain Guevara, 63, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, get up from his hospital bed.

"The people who work in hospitals are exhausted... It takes a physical and an emotional toll on you," he said. "It's not always been pretty but it's been functional, and this is why we call it a disaster."

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Slideshow

Live camera footage of a patient hospitalised with COVID-19, is shown from a computer monitor during a daily meeting lead by Dr. Varon.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Live camera footage of a patient hospitalised with COVID-19, is shown from a computer monitor during a daily meeting lead by Dr. Varon.

Medical school student Osvaldo Perez, 40, takes a break from treating COVID-19 patients.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Medical school student Osvaldo Perez, 40, takes a break from treating COVID-19 patients.

A medical school student takes a nap in the break room.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

A medical school student takes a nap in the break room.

Dr. Varon talks on his phone in the staff lounge.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon talks on his phone in the staff lounge.

Dr. Varon passes a piece of paper to healthcare worker Cesar Barrera, 24, as he checks on patients being treated for various diseases in the emergency room.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon passes a piece of paper to healthcare worker Cesar Barrera, 24, as he checks on patients being treated for various diseases in the emergency room.

Dr. Varon fills out a COVID-19 patient's report.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon fills out a COVID-19 patient's report.

Dr. Varon puts on personal protective equipment before treating COVID-19 patients.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon puts on personal protective equipment before treating COVID-19 patients.

A man delivers balloons to a COVID-19 patient who was missing his daughter's birthday.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

A man delivers balloons to a COVID-19 patient who was missing his daughter's birthday.

Medical student Fernando Olvera, 26, wears a picture of himself for patients to know what he looks like as he visits the room of a COVID-19 patient.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Medical student Fernando Olvera, 26, wears a picture of himself for patients to know what he looks like as he visits the room of a COVID-19 patient.

Nurse Lucy Dombovy, 37, signals to a colleague while peeking her head out of an intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Nurse Lucy Dombovy, 37, signals to a colleague while peeking her head out of an intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients.

Hector Ortiz-Garcia, 63, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, texts members of his family from his hospital bed.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Hector Ortiz-Garcia, 63, who has been hospitalised with COVID-19, texts members of his family from his hospital bed.

Dr. Varon, 58, and a team of healthcare workers perform CPR on a COVID-19 patient.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon, 58, and a team of healthcare workers perform CPR on a COVID-19 patient.

The face shield of healthcare worker DeAnndrea Scott fogs up as she and a team of healthcare workers lead by Dr. Varon perform CPR on a COVID-19 patient.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

The face shield of healthcare worker DeAnndrea Scott fogs up as she and a team of healthcare workers lead by Dr. Varon perform CPR on a COVID-19 patient.

The body of a patient who died during an intubation procedure, is prepared by nurses to be transported to a morgue.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

The body of a patient who died during an intubation procedure, is prepared by nurses to be transported to a morgue.

Dr. Varon checks his phone after getting home from work.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Dr. Varon checks his phone after getting home from work.

VDr. Varon talks to his wife Sarah after arriving home from work.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

VDr. Varon talks to his wife Sarah after arriving home from work.

A bobblehead of Dr. Varon sits on his desk in his home office.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

A bobblehead of Dr. Varon sits on his desk in his home office.