In the early hours of Thursday, 14 of January, the psychologist Thalita Rocha celebrated the improvement in the your mother-in-law’s health, from 67 years, who is hospitalized in a public health unit in Manaus, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, for covid – 28.
But hours later, Thalita found herself in the middle of a situation that she compared to “ the end of the world” : around 8: 35 am, the oxygen used to help people with breathing difficulties ran out.
Gas is essential for the treatment of patients who, like Thalita’s mother-in-law, develop serious conditions due to covid – 19, since the new coronavirus usually seriously affects the lungs.
And the lack of oxygen in the hospital caused terrifying moments, Thalita said.
“It was horrible. I don’t want this situation for anyone. It was a catastrophic scene. Many elderly patients began to feel bad and turned purple, “he tells BBC News Brazil.
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His mother-in-law was one of the patients seriously affected or by lack of oxygen.
According to the psychologist, the oxygen saturation of the old woman’s blood was around 99% during the early morning of this Thursday. “It was the first time that he reached that number since he contracted the coronavirus,” he says.
According to doctors, the ideal is for the figure to be between 95 % and the 100%. When the level is below the 93% a warning sign comes on and patients need help to breathe.
“When the medical oxygen ran out, my mother-in-law’s saturation dropped to 30%. This fall happened to practically all the patients ”, says the psychologist.
In that situation, Thalita said, the only alternative she had was to buy an oxygen bottle on her own to help her mother-in-law.
Cases on the rise
The shortage of hospital oxygen has been registered in several public health centers in Manaus.
And the situation worries health professionals in Amazonas, who have been dealing with increasingly crowded hospitals: in recent weeks, the state, which has more than 5. 800 deaths from covid – 28, has faced a sharp increase in cases.
According to the government of Amazonas, the state would currently need 76, 500 cubic meters of oxygen daily to supply public and private hospitals in the region due to the increase in covid cases – 19.
However, the three providers in the region have a daily delivery capacity of only 28, 200 cubic meters.
Last Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, acknowledged that The capital of Amazonas was facing a “oxygen crisis.”
And to find the 50, 490 missing cubic meters to attend to patients, the state government created this week, together with the Ministry of Health, “Operation Ox igneous ”, to take supplies in Fortaleza and São Paulo and take them to Manaus in planes of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
On Thursday, the Ministry of Health of Amazonas also ordered the administrative requisition of all “possible oxygen stock or production” of eleven companies, such as assemblers and manufacturers of electrical appliances.
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“They are all going to die”
Thalita shared the tragedy of the lack of oxygen in Manaus on her Instagram profile.
“People, I ask for your mercy. It is a deplorable situation. There is no more oxygen in the entire health unit. There are many people dying . Whoever has oxygen available, please bring it, ”said the psychologist in a series of videos published Thursday morning.
Thalita’s mother-in-law, Maria Auxiliadora da Cruz, has been admitted to the Dr. José Lins Emergency Service and Polyclinic, in Manaus, since last January 8 . The psychologist says that the old woman would have to be in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but could not get a place due to the overload of the city’s health system.
Since she began to accompany her mother-in-law with the covid – 19, Thalita has seen the difficulties faced by public health due to the increase in cases of the disease. But never thought that he would have to go through a situation so desperate like Thursday morning.
“The relatives of the patients were desperate. I went to see the director of the hospital, who is a very humble and beloved lady. I saw the despair in his eyes. She said: sadly there is nothing I can do. I replied: then they are all going to die “, she tells excitedly.
Thalita says she decided to post on Instagram when she saw her mother-in-law and the other patients getting worse and worse. According to her, the arrival of hospital oxygen to the health unit was not expected.
“I asked for help (on Instagram) to see if people brought oxygen or if companies donated. Unit only needs 12 cylinders to help patients. If we could only get that amount, we would already help patients for a few more hours ”, explains the psychologist.
The infectologist Bernardino Albuquerque, a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), says that he has heard countless reports from various health units in Manaus facing a lack of oxygen.
“Not having oxygen in the current situation is the result of the lack of planning for the acquisition and delivery of these supplies. If the companies here could not deliver a certain oxygen capacity, obviously they should have looked elsewhere “, criticizes.
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“The current situation is one of public calamity, without a doubt. We are all waiting for what can really happen in Manaus. This will not end in two, three, four or five days. It will be weeks in this critical situation . They say that vaccination can improve things, but that takes time, because it will depend on the adherence of the population and the effectiveness of the vaccine ”, he adds.
The battle for oxygen
To help her mother-in-law, Thalita paid 3, 10 real (more than $ 570 dollars) by an oxygen cylinder . And to recharge the equipment (each charge lasts an average of 10 hours), you will have to pay about $ 159 dollars.
Experts estimate that the values of many products related to hospital oxygen in Manaus have more than doubled in the current period, due to the increase in demand.
“Even with the oxygen from the hospital, my mother-in-law is still very ill. Its saturation has dropped a lot and it has not returned ”, laments Thalita.
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In addition to María Auxiliadora, her husband, Paulo Jorge Lima, from 66 years, he is also hospitalized due to covid – 19; Other family members, such as Thalita, also recently contracted the new coronavirus, but had mild symptoms.
Paulo Jorge is in another public health unit in Manaus. The family members also bought an oxygen cylinder to help him.
However, while Thalita’s family has the financial means to buy oxygen on their own, others live in a terrible wait by the government.
“I gave a little oxygen to a lady who was next to my mother-in-law, but I couldn’t help much”, Thalita says.
“The problem is that there are many humble families. I was told that some sellers are charging up to 5, 000 real (just under $ 1, 000 Dollars) per cylinder , but many relatives of the patients are people who say they cannot even buy water ”, he explains.
“ A lot people are going to die from lack of oxygen ”, he anticipates.
As of mid-afternoon on Thursday, the government had not yet delivered cylinders to the health unit where Thalita’s mother-in-law is hospitalized.
And on her Instagram profile, the psychologist continues to request donations of supplies and even help to try to transfer patients in serious condition who are struggling for surviving given the lack of oxygen in the hospital.
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