Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

COVID-19 and the power of prayer

Louis Profeta, MD
Conditions
March 25, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

Prayer is a funny thing. I guess it’s like an N95 protective mask to guard you against COVID-19. You don’t realize how valuable and precious it is until you’re without it, and sadly we are all running low. For the past 25 years of my career as an emergency physician, I bet my partner Dr. Jaime Harper and I have passed by them on the droplet isolation precaution carts a thousand times without so much as giving them a second glance. Just a simple box of masks that now may be all that separates us from dying. From not being able to grow old with the people we love. Now we get dressed, we go to work, we hug our spouses and kids goodbye, and we wonder.

We sometimes forget about prayer. We pass by it on a daily basis. It waves to us at times, trying to get our attention like a child wanting to catch a ball with a father too wrapped up in a business call to notice.

Some years ago, my oldest son fell ill with leukemia. Jaime came to visit him in the hospital in New York. She brought mandel bread. It was the worst singular period of time in my life, but at the same time it was also the most immersive and incredibly spiritually awakening experience. All because I found prayer then. I showered in it. I drank it, soaked myself in its soothing waters, and I let it pour over me. I surrendered to it. But as things go, sadly, I let it fade a bit over time.

Jaime and I are both alumni of Lori Palatnik’s vision of Judaic awakening. Jaime recently went on the Momentum trip to Israel, and she will tell you it was one of the greatest moments in her life. A few years prior, I had gone on the men’s trip to Israel. We both made friends we will carry with us forever— friends that have been flooding us with texts of support and offers of food and a deluge of “hey, hang in there, we’re proud of you, we love you, and we’re praying for you.” One such text came from Lori Palatnik.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

“Bad as bad can be, Lori,” I responded.

“In the last war here in Israel, someone out there made a website matching people to soldiers. Every soldier had someone praying for them … What is your Jewish name and mother’s Jewish name? Not only do you have someone davening (praying) for you—it’s me,” she tells me.

Later that night, I donned my mask, my gown, my goggles, and gloves, and walked into the room where the man of about sixty lay gasping and coughing. He labored with each breath, a look of fatigue and panic spreading across his mottled face. I thought to myself:

I wonder who is praying for him. I wonder who is praying for the rest of us.

Louis Profeta is an emergency physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com 

Prev

Now is not the time to vilify doctors

March 25, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

The many firsts of coronavirus

March 26, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Now is not the time to vilify doctors
Next Post >
The many firsts of coronavirus

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • State sanctioned executions in the age of COVID-19

    Kasey Johnson, DO
  • A patient’s COVID-19 reflections

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Starting medical school in the midst of COVID-19

    Horacio Romero Castillo
  • COVID-19 shows why we need health insurance

    Jingyi Liu, MD

More in Conditions

  • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

    Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD
  • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

    Charles Reinertsen, DMD
  • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

    Andrea Caamano, MD
  • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

    Deborah Lafer Scher
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • The unseen cost of detachment in radiology

      Dr. Yesu Raju | Physician
    • I thought success was a destination. Then I became a doctor.

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

      Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

      Charles Reinertsen, DMD | Conditions
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • The unseen cost of detachment in radiology

      Dr. Yesu Raju | Physician
    • I thought success was a destination. Then I became a doctor.

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

      Peggy A. Rothbaum, PhD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

      Charles Reinertsen, DMD | Conditions
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...