Why is Kaci Hickox so upset about being quarantined?

I've been thinking about Kaci Hickox, a nurse placed under mandatory quarantine in New Jersey. Hickox, an epidemiologist who was working to help treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, has tested negative twice for Ebola and does not have symptoms, she said. She is quarantined for 21 days at University Hospital in Newark. Hickox says she has asked repeatedly but hasn't been told how long she'll be held at the hospital. Now she is planning to file a civil liberties lawsuit because she feels she has been treated unfairly.

I don't believe her. I'm not a psychologist, but what she's saying leaves me feeling like she's not telling the whole story.

She is a professional nurse. She has been dealing with a contagious and potentially lethal virus. Maybe she is not sick and maybe the quarantine was not necessary in her case but I would think that, being a medical professional, she would understand why extreme precautions are being taken. Instead, she is complaining about being confined for 21 days. Not that she is being mistreated or subjected to unorthodox procedures or anything of that nature, but that it wasn't necessary for her to be detained for 21 days.

I began to wonder why. Why would she be so concerned about being confined? Just on a hunch, I looked up if there is a market for ebola tainted blood. Turns out there is.

As the deadly Ebola virus continues to ravage a wide swath of Western Africa, some of the infected are turning to an illicit trade in survivors’ blood, despite warnings from the World Health Organization.

As word spreads about the possible benefits of the convalescent serum, the demand for ‘survivors’ blood’ has increased, together with all of the inherent risks of being infected with other equally deadly diseases, including HIV, as well as possible anaphylactic shock due to an allergic reaction to the serum.

Ebola epidemic spawns black market in survivors’ blood

Really. Blood from ebola survivors has become valuable on the black market. She has been treating victims of ebola. Could it be that she has some time sensitive task she needed to perform when she returned? Could she have managed to ship a collection of survivors blood of different types out of the country?

Survivors blood of different blood types could be very valuable on the black market and could be ruined by improper storage or simply sitting too long.

Like I said, I'm no psychologist. This is just something that crossed my mind.

Either that or she just feels like she knows better than everyone else and is invincible.

It can't possible happen to her ... until it does and then, well, oops, she never meant for that to happen! But by then it's too late for everyone she came into contact with. They have to sit at home for 21 days and wait, hoping they don't get sick, too.

But, you know, all those other people got over it, so I'm sure it's really not all that dangerous to get Ebola.

Any health care worker who has been in contact with, or working with ebola patients for any period of time, should submit to quarantine regardless of symptoms when they enter the country. We have already had health care workers, not exhibiting symptoms wandering around and traveling, then they suddenly present with fever. We must have a reasonable period of quarantine to protect the lives of children and adults in our nation. Period. Those undergoing a quarantine must be treated with respect and dignity and furnished with what they need and should not be treated inhumanely what so ever. We must use caution and common sense. If we ask parents to keep their children home with viruses and disease, it makes sense to do this with health care workers who have been working with ebola patients.

NPR said today, that people are acting hysterically. No, they are not. We are being cautious, and that is a good thing. I support and applaud what the governors are doing to protect the people.

It seems to me that there was far more hysteria over H1N1.

Moving with caution, being sensible and using good judgement is what is needed. We do not have a complete handle on how ebola is going to act in this nation. Our climate is different, our way of living is different.

Why is she upset? I thought you would never ask! I have a small list of possible reasons. I could be wrong but I'm just guessing..

1). She had plans to go Bowling in NYC.
2). Getting fit for her Wedding Dress in LA.
3). She enjoys riding Subway Trains when not treating Ebola Patients.
4). Posted her plans to take a White House tour on Face book.
5). Needed her apartment Professionally cleaned.
6). Wanted to see her neighbors faces when all those Blue Hazmat Barrels arrived.

Well, you asked....

Interesting thoughts. I don't think I ever would have thought about that. Be it the case or not, it would make a pretty interesting plot twist in a novel wouldn't it?

SnF

a reply to: N3k9Ni

Personally, I think she's acting mentally unstable. After working with ebola patients, and refusing to cooperate with a quarantine to take precautions, makes me wonder what is wrong with her. The CDC has stated already that it could take up to 21 days to become symptomatic. I will agree that she's being treated inhumanely if she's been provided a room without a shower, and this should change. She should be made comfortable and given what she needs until her quarantine is over with.

If my child came down with pertussis, I wouldn't send her off to school to infect other children. No. She would stay home. Common sense.

originally posted by: N3k9Ni
I've been thinking about Kaci Hickox, a nurse placed under mandatory quarantine in New Jersey. Hickox, an epidemiologist who was working to help treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, has tested negative twice for Ebola and does not have symptoms, she said. She is quarantined for 21 days at University Hospital in Newark. Hickox says she has asked repeatedly but hasn't been told how long she'll be held at the hospital. Now she is planning to file a civil liberties lawsuit because she feels she has been treated unfairly.

I don't believe her. I'm not a psychologist, but what she's saying leaves me feeling like she's not telling the whole story.

She is a professional nurse. She has been dealing with a contagious and potentially lethal virus. Maybe she is not sick and maybe the quarantine was not necessary in her case but I would think that, being a medical professional, she would understand why extreme precautions are being taken. Instead, she is complaining about being confined for 21 days. Not that she is being mistreated or subjected to unorthodox procedures or anything of that nature, but that it wasn't necessary for her to be detained for 21 days.

I began to wonder why. Why would she be so concerned about being confined? Just on a hunch, I looked up if there is a market for ebola tainted blood. Turns out there is.

As the deadly Ebola virus continues to ravage a wide swath of Western Africa, some of the infected are turning to an illicit trade in survivors’ blood, despite warnings from the World Health Organization.

As word spreads about the possible benefits of the convalescent serum, the demand for ‘survivors’ blood’ has increased, together with all of the inherent risks of being infected with other equally deadly diseases, including HIV, as well as possible anaphylactic shock due to an allergic reaction to the serum.

Ebola epidemic spawns black market in survivors’ blood

Really. Blood from ebola survivors has become valuable on the black market. She has been treating victims of ebola. Could it be that she has some time sensitive task she needed to perform when she returned? Could she have managed to ship a collection of survivors blood of different types out of the country?

Survivors blood of different blood types could be very valuable on the black market and could be ruined by improper storage or simply sitting too long.

Like I said, I'm no psychologist. This is just something that crossed my mind.

could it be that she knows this Ebola thing is not real and she has better things to do.

Maybe she's worried she'll be confined in close proximity to someone who 'does have it'. This is why you will NOT see me anywhere near the hospital I work if they DO bring in their first case.

FTR, the hospital where I work made the official determination just last week, that we will not admit anyone who 'may' be a vector.

The Obama Administration is jealous of a few States "taking their own steps", IMO.

The White House is trying to reverse those State plans.

New York so far, is bending to the Administration at least partly.

This girl and the lawsuit are part of a controlled opposition plan being instigated by the Administration.

She is connected ......

and they need to keep her at a "distance" to squash the connections and politics involved.

some theories and info is coming onto this thread;
Under Pressure, Cuomo Loosens Policy for Ebola Quarantines in New York

a reply to: xuenchen

Truth be told, the administration is 'terrified' of having to establish 'camps' for the quarantined. Personally, I don't see a problem. I'd rather take up residence in a pup-tent, than be thrown in a cell with people puking and squirting.

But ... I get it.

She's made several claims of mistreatment and if true, could justify her being upset.

1. She claims that she wasn't told why she was being quarantined when she got to the airport
2. She was grilled by government officials as if she were a criminal
3. Once she was quarantined, there was no heat in her "tent"
3. She has been denied visits from family and lawyers, even though medical personal visit her outside her tent through a clear plastic window without wearing any special hazmat suits. If the doctor's can visit, why not others?
4. She's been tested twice and found to be ebola free
5. Once she was quarantined there was nothing for her to do, no TV, phone, books or magazines. (I understand that has since changed)

Again, these are her claims.

I agree with quarantining people returning from ebola stricken countries. but there is no reason not to tell them why they are being quarantined or at least provide some basic entertainment while they are stuck in an isolation ward away from human contact. A TV, some reading material and a phone aren't that difficult to provide in this situation. It's not like she is in a tent in the backwoods. She's at a major hospital inside a metropolitan area.
Do I think some of her claims are hysterical? Yes. Perhaps if the people detaining her had mentioned that such item could be provided if she would just be patient, that might have helped the situation.
The quarantine makes you a patient, not a prisoner. A level of isolation is necessary, but if doctors in plain clothes can visit with her through a plastic window, so can her family and her lawyer.
Some of her complaints come off like she is a spoiled brat, but some of the complaints do have merit and should be listened to. Perhaps if she were more calm in expressing her opinion to the press, then perhaps the situation could have been resolved without all the hoopla.

Quarantined for 21 days, but they won't tell her how long she will be there? Maybe they are just shocked she has to ask.

a reply to: N3k9Ni

Surprised how a 'Professional Nurse', does not support the 'Prevention Is Better Than Cure' idea.

Thanks for the laugh:-) my first thought is that's being a selfish whiny brat.If you are prepared to work with patients who are victims of a disease like ebola,you should also have the moxie,maturity,integrity and common sense to be able to hack 21 days' quarantine.Otherwise you have no business doing a job like that.a reply to: scattergun

originally posted by: Raxoxane
Thanks for the laugh:-) my first thought is that's being a selfish whiny brat.If you are prepared to work with patients who are victims of a disease like ebola,you should also have the moxie,maturity,integrity and common sense to be able to hack 21 days' quarantine.Otherwise you have no business doing a job like that.a reply to: scattergun

LOL, I totally agree with that.. But I sure wouldn't complain if I where in her shoes, could be worse... she could have been sent to Dallas..

its easy, b*tches be crazy.

a reply to: N3k9Ni

In the United States there is a principle by which you are not supposed to be arrested unless a judge issues an arrest warrant. Kaci Hickox must be one of those people who takes a civilized society seriously. To most people the idea of human rights is a joke and absurd extremism... like the people who think Kaci Hickox should have to obey a doctor's orders as if they are the law. It never occurred to any of these people, none of them, that gee we should amend the constitution first so that doctors have the authority to detain people without being accused of a crime.

Most people seem to think you should just make exceptions to any and all laws on a whim and ignore them as if they don't exist. The constitution is an illusion. You may not remain silent, so there is no freedom of speech. You may not have a judge approve/disapprove of your indefinite detention. Bizarre... the USA is a police state. Do not be surprised if you are arrested without any judge involved and held for a very long time. This is not a safe place and possibly never was... its an illusion of safety.

a reply to: N3k9Ni

Maybe she can't handle going that long without having sex?

a reply to: wayforward

we should amend the constitution first so that doctors have the authority to detain people

I'm not picking a fight. You should look into exactly just how much a 'competent medical authority' has over your rights already. Prepare to be astonished by what you find.

My first thought was, she doesn't want to eat up her sick leave, then vacation pay, or afraid that she might lose her job. If she gets paid by the hour as a nurse, then she fears the loss of income. Which the state could easily take care of if she had just asked and told them her concerns.

She was treated extremely poorly. The people should have told her what was going on immediately. Treated her with the utmost kindness and respect. They overreacted and scarred the sh-- out of her.

A person in involuntary quarantine should be treated like a patient, given excellent accommodations, unlimited "room service", a Kindle reader with unlimited book downloads, a TV with all channels fully unlocked, a computer with skype to talk to friends and family. They are not prisoners they are in quarantine.

Being a nurse just coming from treating Ebola patients she should have been more understanding about the need for quarantine, even if it hurt her economically.

Both sides overreacted. However, to be fair she was ambushed and had no idea this would happen and the people who handled the case treated her more like a prisoner rather than a potentially ill person.