D&D and the rising pandemic

[Dannyalcatraz]

Everything about this is bizarre. They hurry him to a hospital, there are rumours of emergency oxygen being administered, and shortly afterwards he is released from hospital and even walks around without a mask claiming he is totally fine? That is not how this works. The POTUS might get the best medical help in the world, but they are not wizards.

Plus, there is the fact that Trump himself says he is totally healthy, so obviously the opposite must be true.

Maybe he insisted on the heavy treatment himself? Or he insisted on being treated at the White House in secret? Either way, all of his staff are going to be infected now, and there are going to be more books about this in the near future.

At this point, I don’t think he’s bluffing about having C19. There’s at least one video announcement that he made where there’s a bad edit mid sentence, and it looks (to me and others) like it was because of coughing.

And there’s this one:

That’s not a man breathing easily or normally. It’s taking conscious effort.

...which just means that the real question is how sick is he?

According to the speculating MDs, those are some serious meds he’s on. Which means he’s either sicker than he’s willing to admit to the general public or he’s ordered overtreatment.

There are a great many doctors in the world, but the ones who work at
Walter Reed are- IMHO- less likely to be the kind to order treatments not indicated by a patient’s illness but rather by the patient‘s demands. Even if that person is Pres. #45.

My weathervane? Watch Mike Pence.

 

[Imaculata]

There are a great many doctors in the world, but the ones who work at
Walter Reed are- IMHO- less likely to be the kind to order treatments not indicated by a patient’s illness but rather by the patient‘s demands. Even if that person is Pres. #45.

Here's a hypothetical scenario: What if he is seriously ill, and the doctors tell him that he should stay in the hospital under constant observation? Instead, the president stubbornly insists to be released from hospital, and to be given whatever aggressive medication they can to make him 'look' healthy, and to then to be treated at the White House.

Could the president order his medical staff to do something like this? And would they do it when told to?

EDIT: According to the Washington Post, apparently the president was getting bored from being at the hospital.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That’s what I’m getting at. Most doctors will push treatment boundaries for certain reasons/short time periods/to meet certain theraputic goals. Ethical ones won’t do that to make a patient happy.

So while Trump might order a treatment, MDs at Walter Reed would be less likely than average to kowtow to his whims or desires just to make him happy or ease his boredom.

If, however, his order was within their Venn Diagram of possible options, they might fo what he asked. Hell- he’s already on experimental therapies. That’s pushing boundaries right there.

Otherwise, he’s as free as any patient to check himself out of the hospital AMA.*





* Against Medical Advice

 

[Ryujin]

He's going to be fine and somehow spin it as "COVID is NOTHING" and "I'm the toughest person EVER for surviving" as if those two things aren't mutually exclusive. Just you watch.

Took off his mask, turned around, and walked into the White House. While contagious. I sure wouldn't want to be a White House staffer right now.

 

[Umbran]

Everything about this is bizarre. They hurry him to a hospital, and he is put on emergency oxygen.

I would like you to note the emotionally loaded words - "hurry", "emergency". The emotional connotation of these words may not match how the things went down.

His staff is then instructed to lie about the president being put on oxygen.

Dude. How often are his staff not instructed to at least bend the truth?

Maybe he insisted on the heavy treatment himself?

Overtreatment of high-profile patients is sometimes a thing - either at their insistence, or because being the doctor who killed the patient due to undertreatment does not look good on the resume, if you know what I mean...

 

[Umbran]

Ethical ones won’t do that to make a patient happy.

The overwhelming majority of doctors are not treating the leader of the US, with this kind of personality.

If it is Monday-morning QB-ing to second guess the treatment, it is just as much to second-guess the doctor-patient dynamic.

And, Dr Conley formally works for the White House Medical Unit, a branch of the White House Military Unit, not for Walter Reed Medical Center.

 

[Umbran]

Took off his mask, turned around, and walked into the White House. While contagious. I sure wouldn't want to be a White House staffer right now.

I am left wondering at the Reckless Endangerment suits that could come out of this. Folks in the White House are generally considered "essential workers", but that doesn't mean their working conditions are allowed to be that dangerous.

 

[Ryujin]

I am left wondering at the Reckless Endangerment suits that could come out of this. Folks in the White House are generally considered "essential workers", but that doesn't mean their working conditions are allowed to be that dangerous.

With all of the stuff that's currently in the queue, I think that Trump will be in court well into his 90s.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And, Dr Conley formally works for the White House Medical Unit, a branch of the White House Military Unit, not for Walter Reed Medical Center.

This closing point was probably your most solid. I had forgotten who he was: Dr. Sean Conley- licensed to kill.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I am left wondering at the Reckless Endangerment suits that could come out of this. Folks in the White House are generally considered "essential workers", but that doesn't mean their working conditions are allowed to be that dangerous.

Unfortunately, a lot of legislation has loopholes made to specifically exclude what happens on Capitol Hill. (Funny how that happens.) Not sure if OSHA regs, etc. are among them, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

That said, it’s possible that a court could find such an exclusionary clause to be unenforceable (on several grounds) and allow a case to proceed.