YOUR STUBBORN SPOUSE

I’m writing this article in response to a request from one of my oldest patients and friend.  It seems she married a stubborn male who fails to believe that the Coronavirus is as serious as the President and his advisors are saying it is.

My friend’s husband is a delightful individual.  He’s bright, caring and a hard worker.  He wants to go to his office to work even though he can work from home.  Knowing that his wife, child and himself all have risk factors making them susceptible to the worst consequences of a Corona infection has not stopped him from going to work.

Either he truly doesn’t believe that this virus is the monster it is made out to be or being shut in with his family for weeks is a scarier proposition.  Personally, I’m already going crazy.  Social isolation sucks.  I feel sorry for my wife as she locked in with a crazy man.  

Back to the saga of the stubborn spouse.  As I’ve stated before, I’m a pessimist by profession.  I have to assume the worst and protect my patients against it.  I also hate being right when I predict disaster.  I love apologizing to patients when I scared them without apparent reason.  I’d rather tell you your symptoms are consistent with a heart attack and be wrong than miss the diagnosis and have you die from a heart attack.

We know the Coronavirus kills the elderly and those with underlying medical problems.  So why take the chance of bringing the virus home from work?  Sheltering in place makes sense!  It makes lots of sense!  

The optimist says “I’ll go to work and stay 6 feet away from my coworkers. There is no way I’ll catch the virus and I’ll be more efficient working at the office.”  The optimist may be right.  The pessimist says you’d better make sure your life insurance and your wife’s life insurance are paid up.  The realist says that, if you give Coronavirus to your spouse or child, you’ll be out of work and waiting in the ICU waiting room.  Oh yeah, the hospital won’t let you in!

So, damn it, work from home.  Thank God I’m not married to a stubborn woman. LOL!  She wanted to have cataract surgery in the am despite my warnings and having heard me warn of an impending pandemic for years.  I’m happy to report that the hospital cancelled all elective surgery and is taking this seriously.

My major concern is not your stubborn spouse.  It’s your 20 – 40-year-old children.  Getting them to take this seriously is not an easy task.  They need to shelter in place as well.  While they are unlikely to die from this virus, they will pass it on allowing it fertile ground to grow on.  And then it’s your school children who are going to drive you crazy.  It’s no wonder my patient’s husband wants to go to work.  Have him play ball with the kids, ride bikes with the kids or help them with their homework.Stay home, enjoy your family, check on your elderly friends and lock out the rest of the world.  The life you save may be your own or your family’s