If you haven’t been following the antivax chronicles here, it’s understandable. There is little in there to make anyone feel comfortable with the idea that we are an intelligent species. The posts have been anonymized to protect the privacy of the persons involved, the families, and in too many cases, their survivors.
This news report from the York Daily Record out of Pennsylvania is different.
Man whose wife won a court battle to treat his COVID-19 with ivermectin has died. Names are named, and there are direct quotes from the widow of the man who died. FWIW, it’s possible to put faces and names to the tragedy in this case. It doesn‘t make it any easier to encompass.
Keith Smith, whose wife had gone to court to have his COVID-19 infection treated with ivermectin, died Sunday evening, a week after he received his first dose of the controversial drug.
He was 52.
Smith had been in UMPC Memorial for nearly three weeks and had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit in a medically induced coma on a ventilator since Nov. 21. He had been diagnosed with the virus on Nov. 10.
His wife of 24 years, Darla, had gone to court to compel UPMC to treat her husband with ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that has not been approved for treatment of COVID-19.
York County Court Judge Clyde Vedder’s Dec. 3 decision did not compel the hospital to treat Keith with the drug, but it did allow Darla to have an independent physician administer it. He received two doses before Keith’s condition grew worse, and the doctor halted the treatment.
His widow Darla Smith is obviously going through a difficult time, and is dealing with a great deal of anger.
She wrote that she had picked up a prescription for ivermectin the day before Thanksgiving. “I could have given him the drug on the sly. Yes, they would have caught me.” She described preparing the drug in a sterilized Rubbermaid cup to sneak it into the hospital before the court ruled on her lawsuit. “In the end, I didn't do it,” she wrote. “And that will forever be a cloak of guilt that will cover me in shame.”
Instead, she wrote, “I waited for the stupid court order, a nine-day delay from the date I picked up the script in Paoli. Then, UPMC played nasty, vile, wicked games for two days and delayed further.”
She wrote, “The only thing keeping me upright is sheer hate and venom. Don't lecture me - DO NOT. If you've been through this, you know precisely what this feels like. I hope it is momentary, but I'm pretty nasty when cornered, so don't hold your breath. And, if you haven't been through this, drop to your knees and thank GOD that He hasn't dumped this on you. Thank your lucky freaking stars. But do NOT, ever, lecture me or judge me. There but for God's grace go you. Trust me, you do not want this burden.”
One of the few things different about this is that Darla Smith is having doubts about God after going through this. Many of the anti-vaxx chronicle cases take unquestioning refuge in their faith; the Smith family from the report are believers.
No word on whether they still believe in ivermectin.
Although Darla Smith and her family are looking for signs to try and find some meaning in what happened, she had this to say:
“If heaven is indeed real, just as God should be real – but He chose to not reveal Himself, and I will never, ever in a million years understand why – then I know that Keith is at peace,” Darla wrote.
Her husband’s death has shaken Darla’s faith.
“And God? Remains to be seen,” she wrote. “At the moment we are not on speaking terms and we may never be again. I don't know. We are where we are.”
You can get all of the details at the story; parts of it are pretty grim. This report, on how Darla Smith decided to sue the hospital to administer ivermectin is also worth reading, because it gives a look into where the medical disinformation is coming from, and how it is being deliberately spread.
Here’s the thing. Reading through the report of Keith Smith’s death, only one line is given to something that might have made a difference.
Darla had written previously that she was unsure whether ivermectin could help her husband, but it was worth a try. The use of the drug was described as “a Hail Mary” intended as a last-ditch effort to save Keith’s life. (She would not say whether her husband had been vaccinated.)
emphasis added
I think we can guess the answer to that question.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere, sometime very soon now, if it hasn’t already happened, we will hit 800,000 Americans dead from Covid. The New York Times reports As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished They are among the most vaccinated groups, but people 65 and older make up about three-quarters of the nation’s coronavirus death toll.
Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.
The link above should allow entry past the Times pay wall. It’s not good news. Infection rates are rising again as are deaths, and even with the vaccines older people seem to be more at risk. There’s a lot of data there. Meanwhile Republicans and Fox continue to fight mandates and spread disinformation.
Also, INFLATION!!!!
This comes as employers are trying to get people back to work, as businesses are trying to reopen, and people are hoping to get together for the holidays once more.
The virus may have other plans.
Get the shot, get the booster, wear the mask — and think about other people. It’s not over till it’s over.
