If I Can Survive Four Days in a Corona Cauldron, Maybe Everyone Should Get Back to Work
by Nicholas Booth The author pictured before his recent visit to Croydon University Hospital, ground zero for nosocomial infections You really ought to go back to work, you know. The rewards massively outweigh the risks – which I’m guessing are pretty minimal for most of you. I base my hunch on the fact that I survived four days in Croydon University Hospital, when it was supposedly one of the most dangerous hospitals in the country, at a time when my body had no defence against infection. I’m 59 and, as will be revealed, probably have little in the way of an immune system, which is weird because – Bowel cancer and Pyoderma Gangrenosum aside – I feel fine. So if I can survive the exposure, then most people can – according to my unscientific, anecdotal argument. I’m willing to stand corrected – that’s what the comments box is for. Here are the variables first. In April, one in four patients at "Maydie Hospital" (as locals call it) were dying from coronavirus. At least that’s what their death certificate said: the cause of death often seems open to interpretation. I have two conditions that handicap my body’s defences. The chemotherapy used to arrest my cancer will kill all other types of rapidly-dividing cells, which wipes out your body’s defence mechanisms, such...
