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An ER doctor shared one patient's COVID-19 recovery story, and it's genuinely beautiful

An ER doctor shared one patient's COVID-19 recovery story, and it's genuinely beautiful
Halleh Akbarnia/Facebook

In all the big numbers and chaos and heartbreaking stories of the pandemic, it's easy to miss the one-on-one connections that are happening through it all. Yet we need these stories to remind us of what it is we are fighting for—the beautiful human experience we're all a part of.

An ER physician, Dr. Halleh Akbarnia shared one such story about a COVID-19 patient on Facebook this week, and it's just...well, you'll see.

Working in emergency medicine for nearly 20 years Dr. Akbarnia has seen it all. "I'm used to the daily grind of heart attacks, gunshots, strokes, flu, traumas, and more. It's par for the course in my field," she wrote. "Yet nothing has made me feel the way I do about my 'job' as this pandemic has—that knot-in-the-pit–of-your-stomach sensation while heading into work, comforted only by the empathetic faces of my colleagues who are going through the same."

The veteran ER doc then described her experience treating of one of her COVID-19 patients, "Mr. C." and seriously, you might want to grab a tissue for it.

Akbarnia wrote:

"I met my patient, Mr. C., on my first real 'pandemic' shift, when what we were seeing that day was what we had been preparing for. He was classic in his presentation, his X-ray findings, his low oxygen levels… we just knew. And he was the nicest man I had met in a long time. Gasping for breath, he kept asking if we needed anything, and that it would all be okay. He told us he was a teacher but that he was learning so much from us, and how much he respected what we were doing. The opposite could not be more true."

"We had to decide how long we would try to let him work through this low oxygen state before needing to intubate him. His levels kept falling and despite all our best efforts it was time to put him on the ventilator. He told us he didn't feel great about this, 'but Doc, I trust you and am putting myself in your hands.' That uneasy feeling in my stomach grew even more in that moment. But he, with his teacher's steady voice, kept me grounded, where I was supposed to be. I saw his eyes looking at me, seeing the kindness in them, even as we pushed the medications to put him to sleep. To say this was an 'easy' intubation is an understatement. It was not. He nearly left us a few times during those first minutes, but he kept coming back. We fought hard to keep him with us. The patience and strength of my team that day, truly remarkable.

I handed him over to my friend and colleague, Dr. Beth Ginsburg, and her team in the ICU, and her calming voice reassured me that they had it from here. And then for the next twelve days, I waited and watched his progress, knowing the statistics, and how sick he was when he got to us. They did their magic, and just yesterday my new friend Mr. C was extubated. I decided to go 'meet' him again.

Mr C. was in the COVID stepdown unit, recovering, without family. Nobody was allowed to visit him; even worse, his wife had been home alone in isolation for the past fourteen days, too. My heart broke thinking of how that must have been for her. I cautiously went into his room, donned in my PPE, and when he saw me, he stopped for a second. A moment of recognition.

I introduced myself. 'I'm Dr. Akbarnia, Mr. C. I was the last person you saw in the ER. You told me you trusted us to get you to this side. Looks like you did just fine.' He started to cry. He said, 'I remember your eyes.' And I started to cry. What he didn't know is that, at that moment, I realized that we do what we do exactly for people like him, for moments like these. His strength, his kindness, his calming words to me meant everything. At that moment, my heart (which had been beating over 100 bpm since this pandemic began) finally slowed down.

I sat down and we talked. I told him that while he is here, we are his family. He will always have a place in my heart. And whether he knows it or not, he will be my silent warrior and guide as I take care of every patient, COVID or not. He will fuel me until the day I hang up my stethoscope."

These snippets of human connection—so small in the grand scheme of things, yet so powerful on an individual level—are truly the embodiment of why we're all making the sacrifices we're making. Thank you, Dr. Akbarnia and Mr. C., for the beautiful reminder.

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Family

Dad camping with his kids shared the handwritten note left on his car from a fellow camper

More of this, please.

Photo credit: Canva, Note image via RCampR6/Reddit

A dad got a sweet note from a fellow father after camping with his kids.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent is never being sure whether you're doing a good job or totally bombing it. If you're conscientious enough to even wonder if you're a good parent, you probably are, but parenting entails a million little choices and interactions, and there's always a lingering voice in your head saying, "What if you're really screwing this whole thing up?"

Reassurance and encouragement are always appreciated by parents, but not always received, which is why a note from one camping dad to another has people celebrating the kindness of anonymous strangers.

"You are killing it as a dad."

Someone on Yosemite Reddit thread shared a photo of a handwritten note with the caption, "To the man who left this thoughtful note on my windshield at Lower Pines Campground this weekend, I extend my heartfelt gratitude; your acknowledgment of my efforts to be a good father means a great deal to me."


Windshield Note.
byu/RCampR6 inYosemite

The note reads:

"Bro,

I camped in the spot behind you last night. Let me just say, you are killing it as a dad. First off, I watched your wife guide you in as you backed up your trailer and nailed it on the first try without any yelling. Then your kids unloaded from the truck and were mild-mannered and well behaved. You told stories around the campfire and I had the pleasure of listening to the sounds of giggles and laughter.

From one dad to another, you are killing it. Keep it up.

P.S. Whatever you cooked for dinner smelled delicious!"

How often do we share these thoughts with strangers, even if we have them? And who wouldn't love to get a surprise bit of praise with specific examples of things we did right?

Everyone needs to hear a compliment once in a while.

So many people found the note to be a breath of fresh air and a good reminder to compliment people when we feel the urge:

"That would make any daddy's eyes water."

"It’s always nice, as a guy, to get a compliment."

"I complimented a guy's glasses at work (I'm also a guy, and btw they were really cool glasses, I wasn't just being nice) and now he keeps trying to tell me where he got his glasses and how I should get some. But I'm just having to be polite because I already have glasses and I'm not in the market. I finally had to tell him I'm not going to buy them lmao I just like them on him.

Made me feel like that's the first compliment he's had in years because he can't stop talking about it. Also I mainly liked the glasses because I think he's cute but he really thinks it's just the glasses haha jokes on him that cute bastard."

via GIPHY

"I was in the store with my wife and one of our 'adopted nephews' yesterday (we’re close friends with his parents and we’ve known him and his brother since they were newborns and 2yo, respectively). A woman came up to me at checkout while my wife was running out to the car and said 'I’m not sure what your family relationship is here, but I just have to tell you how nice and refreshing it is to hear all the laughter and joy from the 3 of you. You both seem like such a good influence on him and it warms my heart.' It’s such a small thing but as a dude, I can’t remember the last time someone gave me a compliment in public and it made my freaking day."

"10/10 letter. The and not yelling part gave me a good chuckle lol."

"We need so much more of men getting such heartfelt and sincere compliments. Thanks for sharing. ❤️"

"I’ve never considered leaving a note, but when I see a harmonious family with good parenting, it’s healing for me. My childhood was awful."

"Such an awesome compliment! Even though I don't have children myself, I like to remind my friends too that they're doing great & it brings them happy tears."

via GIPHY

"This made me cry. I love that you are getting your 'flowers.' My dad sucked, I’m so glad you are one of the good ones."

"This made me cry too. It’s so hard to be a human. Let alone a parent. Getting a good job sticker every now and then really means a lot these days."

"I'm a big bearded guy and I would cry if I got this note. More people like this, please."

The best part of this story is that no one knows who the dad who wrote the note is, not even the dad who shared it. It wasn't written for clout or notoriety, it wasn't to get attention or make himself look good. No name or signature, just an anonymous act of kindness to uplift a stranger whether he needed it or not.

We all need to hear or read kind things said about us, and sometimes it means even more coming from an anonymous stranger who has nothing to gain by sharing. A good reminder to share it when you feel it—you never know how many people you may move and inspire.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Older people share the surprising ways the world is better than the one they grew up in

These unsung marks of progress might be a refreshing antidote to the doom scrolling.

Photo credit: Canva

Life is certainly different than it used to be. In bad ways, and in incredibly good ways.

Listen, the world today is far from perfect, but staying objective by focusing on the real marks of progress that have been made can keep those feelings of despair and powerlessness at bay, which don’t always do much to help us be the change we wish to see and all that.

Perhaps this is where the wisdom of growing older comes in. Recently, older adults weighed in on the different ways the world now is better than the one they grew up in, and the responses reveal not just the sweeping advances in technology and social justice, but incredible advancements that kind of go unsung for the most part. Check out some of the most eye-opening answers below:

Everyday Life

By and large, there are more options, opportunities and outlets than ever before.

Photo credit: Canva

"Food options for both home cooking and restaurants are much better and more varied."

"If you have niche hobbies and interests, you can actually engage in those things nowadays. Whether it be esoteric books, music, or whatever else, you don't need to travel to the ends of the earth to pursue such things. In the '70s and '80s? Good luck with that."

"It's easier to be single. There's less pressure to be paired and less public shame. Romantic relationships should enhance our lives, not be a requirement to achieve some cultural version of success. I love how it is now! It's very, very good."

"Being a nerd or geek nowadays won't get you ostracized."

Health

Not just medical advancements, but also an increase of awareness regarding mental health subjects. And look, while there's plenty wrong with the healthcare system, there are more free and low cost options with the introduction of resources like Medi-cal, which one person noted.

Photo credit: Canva

"Improved medicine. My mom lived for decades with conditions that her mom would have died from. Many things that were death sentences before are now chronic conditions."

"The openness in which we discuss mental health. While there are improvements still to be made, I think it's great (especially for our youth) that we've created a forum where people can ask for help."

"There was no Medicare or Medicaid for anyone when I was growing up. Now, I'm on both."

"Thanks to modern science and medicine, I have an implant in my brain that allows me to hear after 55 years of being profoundly hard of hearing, even with the most powerful hearing aids. It's awesome, and I wouldn't go back in time for anything."

Social Justice

This is a powerful reminder of why need to keep fighting for equality.

Photo credit: Canva

"Women have less trouble getting jobs that pay pretty well. It used to be that employers could actually advertise (in the newspaper) whether they're looking for a man or a woman, what age they want, and they could even mention they're looking for someone attractive to hire. There is also less gender stereotyping and harassment. We still have a long way to go, but it used to be so much worse than it is now!"

"I grew up in Georgia and Tennessee in the '50s and '60s, so you know where this is going. I remember when watching Black people on TV and holding hands with a white person wasn't allowed. I remember how, in 1966, our high school had 1,200 students, and only three were Black. I left the US in the '80s, but I love coming back and seeing mixed-race couples being the norm. I also love seeing men in buns and tattoos. How far we've come."

"I like being able to buy property, get credit, keep my own name, keep teaching even if I'm unmarried and pregnant, get an abortion if I need one (where I live, anyway), and divorce my husband if I want to."

"I don't have to go to jail just for being a pothead anymore."

"My bullies figured out I was gay before I even knew what it meant. They made the next eight years miserable for me. When I watched the news with my family, I saw segments about gay rights and tried to make it look like I wasn't interested, but I was filing the information away. When the series Soap came out, and Billy Crystal played a gay character, I was amazed. I continued seeing more gay characters show up, and I knew things were changing. I feel like I've witnessed an incredible transformation of American culture. I know there are plenty of more things that need to change, and we lurch backward at times, but the last 50 years have been amazing to me."

Environmental

As we are currently dealing with yet another crises related to climate change with the Los Angeles fires, it's worth noting that improvements were made possible through collective action, and can be made again.

Photo credit: Canva

"Oh god, the smog and pollution were really bad in the early '70s. I don't know how to describe to you what it was like to wake up every day in the summer and just see fog and haze. Everything was dirty. During one springtime, acid rain could damage your car's paint. It was gross. I don't have much good to say about Nixon, but the EPA and the Clean Air Act really made a difference in the quality of life for most Americans."

Technology

The next time you have a meltdown over your bluetooth not syncing properly, give these a read.

Photo credit: Canva

"Cars are safer, quieter, more easily operable, and longer-lived now. As a kid, getting any car to 100,000 miles was a cause for celebration. Now, that's the nominal lifespan of any car. Fuel mileage is amazingly better, plus there's widespread hybrid and EV development — things that were science fiction when I was a kid."

"Navigation software on the phone and in the car. I rarely get lost anymore or have to rely on bad directions."

"I can find out how to fix almost anything on YouTube. After years of fixing my stuff through YouTube, I can now fix most things around the house without having to call anyone or incur the cost of a professional. And it's so much more convenient. Oh, there's a leak in the pipe? Let me run to the shed, get my PVC-fixing stuff, and get everything settled in a couple of hours. So many things that seemed complicated to fix, I learned to do thanks to some videos and a few essential tools."

"Here's one that's a little less obvious: LED light bulbs. The LED light bulb in my front porch light has been going strong since 2013. Also, my parents are in their 80s, so it's nice for them. I replaced every bulb in their house with LED, because changing a bulb in a ceiling fixture when you're 80 is not fun."

"I'm never bored anymore. Growing up, I was bored so often it made me angry. But these days, I have endless books, games, good TV, and hobbies to turn to. Some of that is due to being an adult with money, but streaming, eBooks, and digital games are also a huge part."

"How easy it is to learn new things. There is so much great content online covering everything — from investing to theoretical physics to medieval boat building (if you're into that). None of it would even be approachable for 'regular' folks just a couple decades ago."

"The ease of communication at a very low cost. Back in my youth, long-distance phone calls weren't cheap, so we didn't communicate long distances much. Oh, and being able to get reasonably fresh fish in a non-costal city today is quite a plus."

And there you have it. Just a little respite against the doom scrolling to bolster our spirits and believe that change is indeed possible.

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Science

Eye-opening video shows why 80 percent of Americans live east of this line

You'll never see the U.S. the same again.

via YouTube/RealLifeLore

There's a big change at the 98th meridian.

Have you ever wondered why the eastern half of the United States is densely populated while everything west of Omaha, save for a few metro areas, is no man’s land?

Most people would assume that it’s because people first settled in the east and moved west. Or, they may believe it’s because of the vast desert that takes up most of the southwest. Those are some decent reasons, but it’s a much more complicated issue than you'd imagine.

A 20-minute video by RealLifeLore explains how topography and rainfall have created what appears to be a straight line down the middle of the country on the 98th meridian that dictates population density. Eighty percent of Americans live on the east side of the line and just twenty percent to the west.

RealLifeLore is a YouTube channel that focuses on geography and topography created by Joseph Pisenti.

In the video, we see that several large cities border the American frontier—San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Omaha, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, and Fargo, as well as Winnipeg up in Canada. To the west of those cities? Not much until you reach western California and the Pacific Northwest.

Why? Watch:

The major reason why the population drastically changes is rainfall. It rains much more on the east side of the line versus the west. The reason for the drastic change in rainfall is that the Rocky Mountains create a colossal wall known as a rain shadow that prevents moisture from passing from the Pacific Ocean. This has created a large swath of dry land that’s not conducive to larger populations.

Though the eastern U.S. is more densely populated, it doesn't mean the west doesn't sometimes feel crowded, especially if you live in Los Angeles County. What side of the line are you on?

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Family

People rally around wife who stopped cooking for her husband with 'extreme' dietary needs

Where would you draw the line?

via Canva/Photos

A woman is depressed over her husbands restrictive diet.

A woman (42) is wondering whether she's correct in feeling that she’s been pushed too far by her neurodivergent husband (48), who has extreme dietary restrictions. “My husband is ND and extremely successful in his career, but struggles with day-to-day functioning. He has a lot of dietary restrictions, and over the years, I was happy to work around those--mostly, we now eat homemade salad and baked chicken, in various forms. Unfortunately, this resulted in a situation where I do ALL the cooking,” she writes.

Her husband also suffered from long-term COVID, which has added to his dietary restrictions, and he has become allergic to wood dust and the gas stove, so she has to cook his chicken in a tiny toaster oven. In addition, she does the majority of household chores while working as an academic at 2 different schools. She has also recently lost her father, to which she was the primary caretaker.

To make things worse, he hasn’t made an effort to get professional help for his problems. “He has pursued no medical solution aside from an inhaler from his PCP. His symptoms are mysterious and variable. He has not seen an allergist or rheumatologist in spite of my pleading,” the woman said.

couples, upset couple, dietary restrictionsA couple haing a disagreement.via Canva/Photos

“This morning, finally, I realized that perhaps I needed to remove myself from this whole emotional food-centered loop and told my husband he can cook and shop for himself, and I will cook and shop for myself and the dogs. He was not happy about this at all,” she concluded her post on the AITA Reddit subforum. She asked the subforum if she was doing the right thing and received tremendous support for a decision that she wasn’t very sure about.

The sticking point with many commenters was that the husband has done little to get help for his ailments and still expects his wife to do everything.

“Are you saying your husband has decided that he has all of those bizarre allergies (wood dust, gas stove, etc) on his own without meeting with an allergist?” one commenter wrote. “He is putting an insane burden on you and doing nothing to help. I’ll be honest — he’s mean and selfish for expecting you to sacrifice your quality of life for all of his whatnot. I would for sure stop cooking for him. I would cook my own food however I want to. I would tell him if he doesn’t go to multiple doctors to assess all this, then the marriage is over.”

Another commenter thought that she was doing the right thing. “Stop. Just stop the madness. In addition to cooking your own meals, use the gas stove until he sees a medical provider and assign him some chores. Is he going to like it? Probably not. But listen to yourself: you are exhausted, traumatized, lost, and angry. If anyone needs self-care, it’s you,” another commenter wrote.

“That’s not a husband, that’s a leech, and you’re a servant. I hope you get yourself out of this. Life can be hard, but it shouldn’t be this miserable,” a commenter wrote.

allergies, long covid, sneezeA man blowing his nose.via Canva/Photos

Another interesting topic discussed in the thread is seldom discussed: long-term COVID is associated with developing new allergies. So, that could be a reason why he’s developed more allergies recently. However, that doesn’t free him from the responsibility of seeing a doctor to get help for his numerous ailments.

Finally, the woman’s post and the helpful comments helped her make peace with her decision to stop cooking for her husband. It’s a great example of how random people on the internet can be a big help. Thank you. “I didn’t expect so many people to have insights into what felt like the impossible frustrations of this situation,” she wrote. “It feels much less impossible when other people share that their own families are experiencing similar things in different ways.”

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Global robotics community FIRST prepares students to thrive as adults in a rapidly changing world

via FIRST

A FIRST mentor encourages a student.

True

There’s no shortage of companies, governments, and organizations around the world searching for talented workers with a deep knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The demand is providing a clear pathway to rewarding, world-changing, and well-paying STEM careers for many young people.

However, some students are missing these incredible opportunities because they haven’t envisioned themselves in STEM or encountered any mentors to show them a pathway for success.

FIRST is a global nonprofit that provides robotics-based programs and mentorship from adult volunteers such as educators and STEM professionals to students ages 4 to 18. FIRST is a mission-based robotics community that aims to get kids excited about STEM and allows them to build these talents, along with critical life skills such as communication and leadership, through team-based robotics competitions.

FIRST has a proven impact in guiding young people into STEM careers, all while having fun and making useful connections.

Teams of people huggingFIRST Championshipvia FIRST

Nearly 700,000 students and 320,000 adult mentors, coaches, judges, and volunteers participate in the nonprofit community year over year, and the transformational power of FIRST programs was featured in the 2022 Disney+ documentaryMore Than Robots. Students develop problem-solving skills and learn confidence, cooperation, empathy, and resilience—skills that will serve them well in their future careers.

Fazlul “Fuzz” Zubair, systems engineering department manager at Raytheon Technologies, an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate, mentors FIRST Team 4201, The Vitruvian Bots, in Los Angeles.

Zubair has hired 15 Raytheon Technologies employees from his FIRST team, creating a FIRST-to-work pipeline. Better yet, many of the new employees then give back to FIRST by mentoring their own teams. Zubair’s dedication to mentorship has created a cycle of positivity that continues to grow.

“Here, at FIRST, it’s a sport where everyone can go pro. They can come out of this program, and they can get a good-paying job and contribute positively to society and solve the tough problems that we have,” Zubair told Upworthy.

“Raytheon Technologies understands this, so it supports students in the program and its employees who mentor. Through FIRST, we’ve created a pipeline of people who already know how to collaborate with engineers and when they come into our companies, they have a head start,” Zubair continued.

Wireless communications innovator Qualcomm Incorporated is another multinational company that supports FIRST. It has been hiring FIRST students because of their advanced skill sets since 2006.

“They’re working on robots and learning things like coding and critical thinking, but they also have 21st-century skills like teamwork and the ability to collaborate with students that come from diverse backgrounds. Those are all things that are important in the workplace,” Natalie Dusi, corporate social responsibility manager at Qualcomm Incorporated, told Upworthy.

As employees, FIRST students join the workforce with experience and vital collaboration skills. “They roll up their sleeves and start innovating right away. When FIRST students come into Qualcomm Incorporated, they are confident,” she added.

Zubair says that FIRST students are valuable, in part because they understand that failure is part of learning and innovation.

“Learning through failure is something that’s really hard to teach,” he said. “You must go through that process. I like to tell my students all the time, ‘I’d rather you fail on this robot than a billion-dollar satellite. Learn now, fail often, fail early.’”

For FIRST CEO Chris Moore, the opportunity to gain confidence in STEM is an important and deeply personal issue. When he was in middle school, a teacher dissuaded him from pursuing a career in technology and he believes it had lasting, negative effects on his career. “Even now, as someone with decades of experience leading youth-serving organizations, this STEM inferiority complex has stuck with me, and at times I still doubt my own STEM competency,” he told Upworthy. “The reality is, STEM is achievable and rewarding for everyone, no matter their gender, age, race, economic standing orientation nor any other factor.”

Statistics point to a high demand for STEM workers and a short supply, especially in the United States and especially among women, underserved, and underrepresented groups. FIRST provides young people from any background with the skills they need to succeed in their STEM studies and future careers. Notably, FIRST reached more than 20,300 youth in underserved communities during its 2019 season.

FIRST students are twice as likely to express interest in a STEM career than their peers.

FIRST understands the value of inspiring all students and does so by providing innovation grants to teams from underserved communities and developing strategic alliances with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), National Society of Black Engineers and Girls, Inc. (NSBE), and other like-minded organizations.

One of the lasting impacts FIRST has on students is an understanding that no matter who they are or where they come from, they can solve the world’s most pressing issues.

The theme for the 2022–2023 season is energy. Students will explore the essential role that energy plays in keeping the world moving forward, the possibilities that different energy sources unlock, and how we can all realize a brighter future through innovative ideas in energy generation, efficiency, and use.

Cooperation, empathy, and resilience are skills that last a lifetime and it’s never too early for a child to enjoy their benefits. Learn more about FIRST programs in your area and how you can become involved!

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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