Freedom & Breathing Tubes
A week ago, my family gave me a beautiful gift in the form of 48 hours to go on a road trip somewhere in the province. As an introvert, this kind of gift was much-needed oxygen to the lungs of my soul. I chose the mountains as my destination, and my Canon EOS D7 was my travel companion. We're trying to function with one car as a family, so this trip required a rental vehicle. Tammy dropped me off at the rental agency, and I selected a small compact rental car. After signing the papers, I was given the keys, and I drove off the lot. A few minutes later, I made a quick stop, acquired a hot Extra Value Meal from McDonald's, and jumped onto the yellowhead trail.
I'm a city dweller, so I rarely get to drive past 50-60KM/H, so I enjoy being on the TransCanada, where I can stretch the legs of a car at highways speeds. At a 110KM/H, you really feel every vibration of the engine and slight bump on the highway in a compact car. When there's a gust of wind, you really do feel the car take a subtle body check to the side, forcing you to firmly hold the steering wheel. It's a very similar experience when a colossal Peterbilt zooms past you on its route to the west coast. I love it.
The Yellowhead Highway Bridge
For those of us familiar with this road trip, you'll know that you slow down when you pass through Entwistle. When you're driving through, and you see the epic train trestle that crosses the Pembina river. Continuing on, if you'd like to top off your coffee or take a bathroom break, Edson is your best bet. Moments later, the peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains will begin to appear on the horizon. Over 100 million years old, they create a natural border around the prairies. They also serve as an indication that you're basically halfway to Jasper National Park. The highway that normally runs flat across the prairies begins to rise and fall as hills turn into mountains.
After listening to two Podcast episodes, I park my car outside a hotel in Hinton. I check into a small, quaint but functional room that will serve my purposes for the trip. I need a clean bed to sleep in after days of hiking. The space will do. I freshen up, and then I jump back in the car and drive to the park's entry gates, paying a nominal fee for two days. The speed limit reduces slightly, giving me the opportunity to take in the colors of the environment. Deep green and brown colors of trees near the mountain base, then the grey rock of the mountains themselves, and white ice caps at the peaks. The road navigates around greyish and turquoise blue waters as it winds its way towards the town of Jasper. It's late in the afternoon, so I go for a quick hike in the Maligne Canyon. A commonly hiked path with a waterfall and walking trail.
The Maligne Canyon is stunning.
It's cool near the water as the sun begins to set. A refrigerator-like chill surrounds my fingers as I adjust my camera settings to account for the light and distance of the water that crashes over the limestone and spills down towards the bottom of the canyon. The trail is sparse, with few hikers this late in the season. A low rumbling thunder of the water crashing below and the steady hiss of the mist rising to the surrounding trails is the soundtrack of this scene. The sounds differ significantly from the sounds of my neighborhood. I take my time and use my amateur photographer skills as best as I can to capture what the canyon looks and feels like this late in the summer. I remind myself to take a moment to breathe and enjoy the moment. My lungs fill with cool pine-scented mountain air, and I'm so happy to be alive. I would have a similar experience the following day along the Columbia Icefield on highway 93. The breathtaking views of the same icefields that connect to the source of Edmonton's drinking water are refreshing.
The breath in my lungs stands in contrast to patients currently lying in our overflowing intensive care units in the province. Many of them are intubated because they can no longer breathe on their own. As of the writing of this piece, 91.2% of those suffering from Covid-19 in the ICU are unvaccinated. They've all come to Intensive care for various reasons. The bottom line is this, they've all contracted the virus and did not have sufficient protection to keep them from the hospital. In Alberta, we have a typical ICU capacity of 173 beds, and today there are 216 Covid-19 patients needing ICU care. Sadly, many of these are struggling to have the freedom to breathe, and tragically, Albertans are no longer free to receive the care that we'd like to give them.
Heaven forbid one of us were in a tragic car accident today; you or I would be drawing on incredibly constrained resources. Unfortunately, those limited resources will likely be assigned to someone who is most likely to live. As Canadians, we want everyone to have the care they need, but we can all do the math. I'm also going to believe the best about those healthy adults that are now suffering. They probably would rather their bed be available to someone who really needed it. This situation could have been avoided with a higher provincial vaccination rate and compliance with public health orders. Does this represent a restriction of personal freedoms? Sure, but I honestly want to know: what are our options for restoring our ICU capacity outside of restrictions? What's the plan to deal with these actual numbers? I'm going to take the answer of withholding health care for the unvaccinated off the table. That option doesn't reflect the province or country we want to live in. We don't have to like the circumstances of the numbers, but we do have to address them.
I've retraced my trip to Jasper and quickly counted the number of times my personal freedoms were restricted for the public's safety. Between leaving the rental agency and my return home, without thinking too hard, at least a dozen times. I did not count public health restrictions, and I didn't even count that I'm required by law to wear pants when out in public. But, joking aside, I was happy to abide. Because as much as I enjoyed the fresh mountain air, I want as many people as possible to breathe easy in the prairies. I'm sure you do as well.