ATLANTA — Local doctors say people are waiting too long to get help because they’re scared of getting COVID-19 at hospitals.
Channel 2 anchor Sophia Choi started looking into this for you after hearing from a woman whose mother nearly died.
Her fear of catching the coronavirus was so strong, she refused to go to the hospital—even after abdominal pain that got so bad, she was barely conscious.
“I couldn’t even think, I was in another world,” said Marcy Rodriguez.
The 86-year-old is starting to get her sassiness back, after undergoing emergency surgery at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital on Peachtree Dunwoody Road.
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Rodriguez even had the energy to talk with Choi from her hospital bed.
“I want people to not to be afraid to come to the hospital because sometimes you can save your life,” Rodriguez said.
It likely saved hers.
“I was in a crisis mode and I was asking her every day, please let me take you to the hospital. She refused,” said Rodriguez’s daughter Jennie Odom.
Her concern?
“I was scared of the virus,” Rodriguez said.
Doctors say that fear of catching COVID-19 led to a big drop in emergency room visits, down 30 to 40 percent since the pandemic started.
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According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed there was a 39 percent decrease in the numbers of patients who underwent stroke imaging as the first deaths were reported.
“We are worried about you Atlanta. We’ve seen a decrease in people seeking care for time sensitive conditions including stroke, heart attack and much more," said Dr. Andrew Pendley.
It took a doctor to convince Rodriguez despite her deteriorating condition.
“I called him, and he did a Facetime. Thank goodness,” Odom said.
Dr. Sheldon Lincenberg is a plastic surgeon who immediately knew Rodriguez needed help, and fast.
“If the general surgeon had not taken out that section of bowel, it would have ruptured within hours and its very likely that sepsis would have led to her death,” Lincenberg said.
“I don’t want any other families – any other family to go through what we went through here,” Odom said.
That’s why she and doctors are warning you to get help, if you need it.
Hospitals are quarantining COVID-19 patients away from others and taking other precautions to keep you safe.
So the risk of catching the virus is low.
“Our health and safety practices are as tight as they have ever been,” Pendley said. “I need people to know these hospitals are clean.”
Doctors say waiting to treat serious conditions is an even bigger risk.
“We’ve lost what we call the golden hour or the golden window to do something before major damage is done,” Pendley said.
Rodriguez says she’s alive, because she finally gave in and got help.
“If they stay home, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” Rodriguez said.
“We almost lost my mother because of fear of COVID-19,” Odom said.
Since the state’s reopening, doctors say they are seeing a slight uptick in patients coming in, and when they do enter the hospital, each patient is immediately checked for COVID-19 symptoms, including a temperature check.
If you pass the test, you’re taken to an area far away from those infected.
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