Boomer Man Refuses Treatment From First Responders Because They're Wearing Masks
"Before I even set my gear down and start my assessment, he says, 'Get that thing off your face.'"
loreanto | Shutterstock A paramedic recalled being on shift one day and responding to a call from an elderly man who refused to be treated because of the safety precautions taken by the paramedic.
Posting to the subreddit "r/BoomersBeingFools," the paramedic said he was forced to leave a struggling patient because he didn't want to risk his own safety.
A boomer man refused treatment by paramedics because they were wearing masks.
In his Reddit post, the paramedic explained that he works for a small suburban department, and in that particular community, there are many retired boomers. Many of them have experienced medical emergencies because of their age.
During his last shift, they received a call to a home because of difficulty breathing. When he arrived, the first thing he noticed was the yard absolutely overflowing with Trump signs, an American flag, and another sign with a gun printed on it and an ironic phrase written across it proclaiming, "This house doesn't call 911!"
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"Our mere presence at that house proved this was, in fact, false. I can’t imagine how the second amendment didn’t solve his respiratory distress, and he had to resort [to] calling the exact number his sign states he does, in fact, not call, but I digress," he wrote.
Based on this boomer man's house, the paramedic could already assume his character and personality, which he didn't relate to or agree with. But a patient is still a patient, and people in the medical field can't make decisions to save someone's life based on their political and moral views.
Since the start of the pandemic, he's been wearing an N-95 mask on every single medical call, and while their department doesn't require them to do it anymore, he still doesn't want to jeopardize his safety and health and would rather not bring home any germs to his wife and toddler.
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Upon entering the house, he was directed to the bedroom, where he saw the heavily overweight patient lying on the bed and wheezing, clearly struggling to breathe.
"Before I even set my gear down and start my assessment, he says, 'Get that thing off your face.' I definitely wasn’t expecting that to be our initial interaction, so I asked, 'Pardon?'" he recalled. The man reiterated what he said, demanding that the paramedic should take his mask off before treating him.
The paramedic attempted to explain to the man that he was wearing the mask for his own protection, but he was still adamant about it being removed. He went on a tirade that masks were useless and Anthony Fauci was a "traitor" who needed "to be hung."
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This was a rather popular and common reaction, especially during the height of the pandemic, and for some reason, people like this man were unable to grasp how these guidelines, including wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, and standing 6 feet apart, were for everyone's safety and to prevent the virus from spreading.
It's not a nefarious or personal choice for someone to want to protect themselves and their family from getting sick, whether that's from COVID or anything else.
In fact, when it comes to respiratory illnesses, much like what this boomer exhibited, the CDC advises that wearing a mask can not only protect the infected in their weakened state but also prevent further spread to healthy individuals.
The paramedic and other first responders ended up leaving without treating him.
"Eventually, he demanded that someone else on my crew help him. I called my partner and my captain into the room and said he would rather speak to them," the paramedic continued. "So they enter the room, but surprise! They’re wearing masks, too."
He saw the other first responders wearing masks and started yelling that he wanted them to leave, so without any option to treat him, they grabbed their gear and left.
The man's wife tried begging them to stay, clearly desperate for her husband to receive something that would save his life, but they weren't able to do anything.
He was a grown man who was more than capable of making his own decisions, including refusing treatment from first responders because they were wearing masks. His wife even tried to get the paramedic to remove his mask once more, but he refused, telling her to call them back if he became unconscious or stopped breathing altogether.
"Sure enough, she called back at 4 a.m. as he was knocking at death’s door. This time, he was too [messed] up to even know we were in the room, and I ended up having to intubate him and breathe for him mechanically on the way to the hospital. Last I heard, he’s going to make it, but I sincerely doubt any lessons were learned along the way."
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.