Health Care Provider Begs ‘Stop the Play Dates, Stop the Travel’ As Son Fought for His Life

Health Care Provider Begs ‘Stop the Play Dates, Stop the Travel’ As Son Fought for His Life
(Illustration - Shutterstock)
3/26/2020
Updated:
3/26/2020

A physician assistant from Montgomery, Pennsylvania, has shared a heartbreaking account of her infant son’s hospital ordeal in the midst of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, in a bid to convince other caregivers to take precautions more seriously.

On March 19, 2020, Sara Hernandez posted a photo of herself at breaking point on Facebook beside an image of her infant son, Cayden, lying in a hospital bed. The moving post quickly went viral.

“This is the face of a woman who has aged ten years in the past 15 hours,” Sara began. “This is the face of a healthcare provider who goes to work every day at an increased risk of exposure to disease to take care of you and your children/parents/friends.”

Cayden, as Sara explained, could not receive the level of care he needed after falling ill because of the low risk of CCP virus contact. Sara herself was fatigued, coughing, weak, and feverish as a result of stress and potential exposure to the virus; she was not allowed to be with her baby in ER.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
Illustration - Shutterstock | <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sick-little-boy-sleeping-on-his-1675588375">Irina Polonina</a>
Illustration - Shutterstock | Irina Polonina
“When I called the ER about Cayden and told them we have had a possible Covid-19 exposure and that he is in respiratory distress and I just wanted to give them a heads up that we were on our way, the charge nurse instructed me not to come to the ER,” Sara later wrote on Love What Matters, regaling the trouble she had had trying to get her son admitted to the hospital emergency room.

Nonetheless, Sara explained, Cayden “did not meet the criteria” for CCP virus testing. He also didn’t receive the care he needed because the hospital staff were underprepared and underresourced.

Illustration - Shutterstock | <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/empty-hospital-hallway-611606933">hxdbzxy</a>
Illustration - Shutterstock | hxdbzxy

The exhausted mother laid her distress bare on social media as a warning to others to take precautionary measures seriously. This could happen, she said, to anyone’s child.

Sara continued sharing her experience on Facebook, “This is the face of your fellow human being begging you to stop the birthday parties, stop the play dates, stop the travel!”

She further added: “While you are all annoyed at these current inconveniences and joking about the struggle of being stuck at home with your children for who knows how long, I cannot be with my baby while he is very sick.”

Illustration - Shutterstock | <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-sleeping-baby-mother-close-new-418179943">DONOT6_STUDIO</a>
Illustration - Shutterstock | DONOT6_STUDIO

The distressed mother has a piece of advice for everyone amidst this pandemic: “These are not normal times.” She further urges everyone to “Please spread the word.”

As a healthcare provider, Sara informed others in her alarming social media post that hospitals do not have enough supplies nor enough time to prepare for what’s still to come.

“It’s here,” she wrote. “It’s affecting everyone The elderly, the young adult, the babies.”

She further reminded everyone, “This is not news hype. This is not social media hysteria [..] This is real life.”

Illustration - Shutterstock | <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/covid19-coronavirus-outbreak-virus-floating-cellular-1662701254">Nhemz</a>
Illustration - Shutterstock | Nhemz

In a final call to arms, Sara pleaded with her community to “please cry with me.”

“[C]ry for help so that our government will hear and start doing what needs to be done,” Sara wrote, “so that this doesn’t happen to your loved ones. God be with us all.”

To date, Sara’s poignant message has been shared over 7,300 times on Facebook and has amassed many comments from sympathetic social media users who are moved by the mother’s plight.
As per the CDC, the symptoms of the CCP virus are similar in children and adults. Experts advise that parents and caregivers should keep their children safe by limiting social interactions, practicing social distancing, washing hands often, and revising travel plans.
Illustration - Shutterstock | <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mom-teach-baby-girl-how-washing-1071027245">Mcimage</a>
Illustration - Shutterstock | Mcimage
According to a Facebook post, as of March 21, Cayden is back home with his parents and en route to a full recovery. Sara wrote, “24 hours worth of the bloodwork, the doctors, the masks, the breathing treatments, the ambulance, advocating for him to get the care he needed—through all of that our little guy was literally trembling with fear, kept reaching out in the ambulance to grab for his daddy’s hand.”