My name is Julia and I live in Decatur, Georgia.

I had the misfortune to have to go to the emergency room this summer during the height of the

pandemic and I was in the waiting room for over 12 hours because of the overwhelmed staff

and by the time they got to me I was almost gone.

That resulted in four days in ICU and then an extended stay in the hospital.

I have health issues as a result of delayed care.

Hopefully they will be resolved eventually but no one can tell me for certain.

Omicron is surging which means hospitals are filling up again.

Hospitals were already short staffed before the latest variant.

Now many hospital workers are catching COVID too.

Governors in at least 10 states have called in the National Guard to help.

That also means it's a pretty bad time to need an ICU bed even if you don't have COVID.

Dozens of hospitals across the country start at the year by delaying prescheduled surgeries

again.

That included a much needed heart surgery for Marcel.

He's a five month old with a congenital heart condition but his surgeries kept getting

delayed.

First it was pushed because the surgeon was dealing with an emergency then it was pushed

because Marcel got a cold and then Omicron head.

Marcel is just one of millions of people worldwide who have had surgeries delayed or canceled

since the pandemic started.

What does it mean when life saving care gets put on hold?

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