Jewish doctor recalls treating Covid-19 patient covered in Nazi tattoos

A Jewish doctor has gone viral on social media this week after speaking about treating a Covid-19 patient with Nazi tattoos.

In a lengthy post made on Twitter, Dr. Taylor Nichols - who works at Mercy San Juan Hospital near Sacramento - told his followers that dealing with so many cases of the coronavirus has been incredibly tough on healthcare workers, especially when patients have refused to follow the stipulated guidelines.

This other doctor recently took to social media to share a breathing technique to help manage Covid-19 symptoms: 

Nichols described how one patient, a "solidly-built" older man was brought to the hospital with breathing problems and hooked to a CPAP machine. It was then that Nichols noticed a large number of swastikas and other Nazi symbols inked onto the patient's skin.

Despite the fact that he was perturbed by the openly-hateful symbols, Nichols and his medical team (which also consisted of an African-American nurse and an Asian respiratory therapist) worked hard to ensure that the man pulled through and got the best possible care.

In his lengthy thread, Nichols stated: "His methamphetamine use over the years had taken its usual toll and his teeth were all but gone.

"The swastika stood out boldly on his chest. SS tattoos and other insignia that had previously been covered by his shirt were now obvious to the room.

"'Don’t let me die, doc,' he said breathlessly as the RT switched him over from CPAP by EMS to our mask and machine. I reassured him that we were all going to work hard to take care of him and keep him alive as best as we could."

Nichols continued: "We all saw. The symbols of hate on his body outwardly and proudly announced his views. We all knew what he thought of us. How he valued our lives.

"Yet here we were, working seamlessly as a team to make sure we gave him the best chance to survive that we could. All while wearing masks, gowns, face shields, gloves.

"The moment perfectly captured what we are going through as healthcare workers as this pandemic accelerates.

"I see the SS tattoo and think about what he might think about having Jewish physician taking care of him now, or how much he would have cared about my life if the roles were reversed. For the first time, I recognize that I hesitated, ambivalent."

He added: "The pandemic has worn on me, and my mantra isn’t having the same impact in the moment. All this time soldiering on against the headwinds, gladiators in the pit."

Nichols went on to say that his hesitation has made him wonder about his mental and emotional state at this time of crisis. However, his post was met with support and praise from other Twitter users and received more than 100,000 likes as of the time of writing.