Wearing masks during pandemic shows love for our neighbors, not fear | Opinion

Doctor: We will get through this together. But to do that we cannot be divided by contempt and misinformation.

Dr. Stephen Patrick
Guest columnist
  • Dr. Stephen Patrick is a neonatologist at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.

As he walked by my wife and daughters in the grocery aisle, he made sure to lock eyes before shaking his head in disdain. My family’s offense? Wearing masks while shopping.  

Later, at home, I talked with my daughters about the experience and asked if they knew why we are wearing masks in public.  

Stephen Patrick, M.D.

“To protect other people,” they both responded, but my younger daughter was puzzled about the interaction. She couldn’t understand why anyone would be frustrated with her trying to help other people. “Maybe he was just confused,” she said, giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

In our home we have had continuous conversations about COVID-19. We have canceled trips and play dates. School has been canceled. My girls understood these decisions were being made not because we were fearful, but to protect our neighbors.

Similar to my kids at this moment in their public lives, I wear masks at work to protect babies, not me.  

Because I’m a neonatal intensivist, I wear surgical masks a lot. I wear them when I am in the operating room resuscitating tiny babies, putting in sterile central lines, or when caring for a baby with a very weak immune system for whom the outside world might be too much.  

Chloe Elliot ,10, brings her doll to Nashville Zoo which reopened to its members on Monday, June 15, 2020. One of the zoo's guidelines is for visitors to wear masks.

During this pandemic we are learning as we go. Our understanding increases every day, because we have never experienced this before. We now know that the virus can be spread by people in close contact who have no symptoms. Because of this, our country’s public health leaders recommend we wear face coverings to protect others and minimize spread.  

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Conflict about masks seems to be everywhere. In the last few weeks we have heard a few stories of security guards being injured while attempting to escort out people not wearing a mask. We have seen videos on social media of shoppers scolding each other over masks. We have heard state legislators boasting about not wearing masks because they are “not afraid.”  

Strength and safety

The uproar about masks is perplexing to me because in my professional life they are not a sign of weakness or fear. In my work, masks are a sign of strength and a cue that safety is paramount. If I walked into an operating room without a mask, I would be quickly escorted out. Masks are a part of my workday -- and for the time being, masks are part of my family’s life. We wear masks because we want our neighbors to be healthy. Our masks are not a political statement.  

Over the last few weeks, colleagues and I have taken care of babies born months too early because of COVID-19. My girls know that wearing a mask is one step they can take to prevent other babies from being born early; that they are empowered to help others.  

We are driven by our faith

My family is not driven by fear. My family is driven by our faith, which tells us to love neighbors as we do ourselves and to care for the most vulnerable. We don’t particularly enjoy wearing masks, but we do it as a way to practice our beliefs.  

We are in such an unprecedented time. Anxiety in the community is palpable. As Americans, we weathered crises in the past. And as in those moments in history, we will get through this together. But to do that we cannot be divided by contempt and misinformation.  

I wear a mask in the hospital to protect my tiny patients. My family and I wear a mask at the grocery store to protect you. Wearing a mask is an act of love. It is being a good neighbor. Please don’t mock my children for making the decision to protect yours. 

Dr. Stephen Patrick is a neonatologist at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.