COVID Christmas in French ICU: Fear, fatigue and loving care

MARSEILLE, France — From the intensive attraction ward successful France wherever helium is spending the holidays, COVID-19 diligent David Daniel Sebbagh said helium has 1 overriding regret: that helium didn’t get vaccinated.

“The vaccine, it’s not a danger,” the 52-year-old said arsenic helium laic successful a Marseille hospital. “It’s choosing life.”

The ICU’s main doctor, Dr. Julien Carvelli, is trying to support his squad motivated arsenic they walk different Christmas tending to patients connected breathing machines, periodically flipping them backmost to front, beforehand to back.

The unit is tired, the omicron variant is bearing down, and the unit’s beds are filling fast. “We’re acrophobic we won’t person capable space,” Carvelli said.

Marseille’s La Timone Hospital, 1 of France’s biggest hospitals, has weathered question aft question of COVID-19. On Christmas Eve, aesculapian unit decorated a fir histrion successful the corridor and seized a infinitesimal for a communal repast successful their scrubs, trying to support a semblance of vacation tone successful betwixt rounds.

The infirmary allows families to sojourn gravely sick loved ones successful the ICU, arsenic agelong arsenic they’re careful. Amelie Khayat has paid regular visits to her husband, Ludo, 41, who spent 24 days successful a coma and connected a breathing machine. The mates touched heads arsenic she sat connected his bed. Now beardown capable to stand, helium stood to springiness her a farewell hug.

In a adjacent room, a 40-year-old diligent laic unconscious adjacent death, with her young son’s wintertime chapeau placed connected her belly. In another, a comparative had near a Christian icon propped connected a patient’s tray.

Down the hall, Katy Zalinian waited anxiously to sojourn her cousin. She aboriginal entered his country wearing afloat protective cogwheel and touched her manus lovingly to his leg.

While immoderate 90% of French adults are vaccinated against the coronavirus and immoderate 40% person received a booster shot, astir of the COVID-19 patients successful La Timone’s ICU are unvaccinated.

“I regret it, a lot, a lot, a lot,” diligent Sebbagh said. “I fto myself get caught up successful things. I thought that the vaccine was not needfully thing good.”

He recalled that erstwhile his COVID-19 symptoms were astatine their worst, “I didn’t cognize wherever I was going. Nothing was wide successful my head....I waited for hours and I was successful pain.”

Sebbagh’s wife, Esther, described her terror: “Our beingness was shattered this week... I believed I would suffer him.”

He’s inactive investigating affirmative for the microorganism and says that each that matters present is trying to recover.

“If I had been vaccinated, I wouldn’t person been successful specified a level of intensive care,” helium said. “The vaccine is not a information but a anticipation to escape, to debar thing much serious.”

France present is seeing its highest regular corruption rates of the pandemic arsenic the omicron variant races astir the country. Carvelli, the ICU main successful Marseille, worries hospitals could soon beryllium “overwhelmed.”

“We’re already successful a concern of tension, with precise fewer disposable spaces,” helium said. “We’re sick of this. We’re ever focused connected doing our jobs the champion mode possible...but the much this goes on, the much bushed radical get.”

Two things are making this Christmas particularly challenging, Carvelli said. More and much unit members are investigating affirmative successful the existent omicron surge and truthful unavailable to work. And immoderate colleagues are leaving the assemblage altogether due to the fact that of the strain.

“We inactive effort to person small peculiar moments during the workday, oregon night, to get unneurotic to celebrate,” helium said. “It’s unusual for the patients, too, who are deprived of Christmas.”

Angela Charlton successful Paris contributed.