And we also wanted to encourage you, if you're struggling or you could use some encouragement, to feel free to call us and pray with us. Our toll free number is (877) 732-6825, that number again is (877) 732-6825 or you could also connect with us online at drjamesdobson.org. Thanks for letting us be a part of your life every day. We are going to get through this. Dr. Dobson said, "We are going to get through this challenging time and we're going to do it together." Let's go now to our regular programming.
Roger Marsh: While most of us are practicing social distancing and working remotely these days, the medical community is different. They are tirelessly working to fight the COVID-19 outbreak. Every day hospital staffs across the nation are logging long hours to treat those with the coronavirus. And today here on Family Talk, we're going to continue Dr. Dobson's recent conversation with ER doctor, Erik Axene.
Yesterday, Dr. Axene shared his perspective on this growing pandemic and talked about the taxing schedule that he personally has endured. In just a moment, he'll address the mental and emotional toll that COVID-19 has taken on doctors and nurses worldwide. Dr. Axene will also provide helpful tips for what the public can do to combat this outbreak. There's a lot of content to get to, so let's get started. Here again is Dr. James Dobson on this special edition of Family Talk.
Dr. Dobson: I know that the tensions are very high for families during this crisis and our hearts go out to those of you who have lost a loved one perhaps or a close friend and your quarantined, that's also terribly difficult for families, especially those with children. I'm hearing about that. Kids are designed to run and play and they really don't do very well when they're boxed in. In fact, I don't think there's been an upheaval quite like this one since World War II.
Now, maybe that's an overstatement. Every generation has its challenges. Nevertheless, we know God is in control and that he hears our plaintiff cries. Our Family Talk team is monitoring issues related to the virus and we're going to talk with our listeners today about one of the most urgent. I have great concerns for the medical people who are literally risking their lives to minister to suffering patients.
We must be in daily prayer for these exhausted caregivers and I want to talk to Dr. Erik Axene. He's a medical director for several municipalities in the Dallas area. Dr. Axene was Designated Physician of the Year by the largest physicians group in the United States. This is just a short summary of a very impressive bio.
I read a statement this last week written by a physician who described her work during this crisis as being rather like a combat situation. Veterans tell us that when frontline soldiers and marines are dying all around, they report a sense of camaraderie and love for each other. I'm told that at that point they're not really fighting for their country, that may not sound patriotic, but that's it.
They're not fighting for their country, they become a band of brothers and they're fighting for each other. What would you say to the people who are listening to us right now? Many of them I would think are in tears and I have been. And my heart goes out to hundreds of thousands of sick and dying patients in Third World countries where they don't have modern hospitals or ventilators or trained medical responders. They're on their own. This is a profound human tragedy.
Dr. Erik Axene: I agree. Really, like I said earlier, just unprecedented. I think it may be what we're experiencing. I've been touched by the sadness of some stories that have really brought reality for me. A friend of mine, my roommate in college just lost his wife a month ago today and to hear his sadness and to hear him grieving over the loss of his wife and as I was on the phone with him before this call actually, the sadness that I feel when dad with his children in tow in the waiting room are asking me when they can come back and see their mommy.
And I know that she just died is one of the most heartbreaking things I have to do as a physician. And when I'm encountered with stories like this, it really makes me very, very thankful for what I have. Very grateful. I used to think that my faith was mature, but as I've encountered this pandemic, I've found new ways of deepening my faith and drawing closer to Christ. For that I've been very grateful and thankful.
Dr. Dobson: Erik, tell people how they can pray for healthcare workers at this time.
Dr. Erik Axene: Well, I guess I would want my colleagues to know. We have many, many Christian physicians out there, including myself and a small group of physicians in our ER. Four or five of us meet together to pray for physicians and PAs, healthcare workers all across our country. I would want people to know, healthcare workers, that they are being prayed for. I would want to also encourage any lay person, there is something that you can do. You can stay at home, you can social distance, washing your hands, not touching your face. These are things that we can all do. We can do our part to help to flatten this curve and if we flatten this curve, then there'll be fewer people hurt by that surge.
Dr. Dobson: What do you say to people who absolutely refuse to quarantine themselves? There are people walking around just as the kids were on spring break a few weeks ago, who foolishly ignored the warnings of their leaders. What they don't realize is that even if they don't become ill, they might carry the virus home to mom or dad or grandma.
Dr. Erik Axene: That's absolutely right. We really have to take it seriously. There are a lot of people who are either minimizing it or maybe they're even fatalistic where they just say, Hey, I'm going to get infected anyway, but Hey, I'm young and healthy. I'm not going to die. Well they forget that they're a fomite. They are a source of transmission to more vulnerable people. And it's so important that they comply and there's a lot of very smart people out there that are making these recommendations and we need to listen.
Dr. Dobson: Well, talk Erik, about the way this virus appears to differ from SARS or the Swine Flu or other epidemics which seemed to target children and young people. I was reading yesterday the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and 1919 killed more than 500 million people. That's one third of the world's entire population. Many of them were young soldiers who had just fought and somehow managed to survive World War One. But we're told that COVID that appears to be targeting older people instead of the young. Do we know why?
Dr. Erik Axene: Yeah, that's a good question. I know that it's all about risk stratification and the older you are, the greater the risk is. And then by adding co-morbidities, it's like adding oil to a fire. So what's happening to these folks, young and old actually, is that you'll get the virus and once you become symptomatic about a week later and you either get better or you get worse, and we're seeing mortality rates of people on ventilators as high as 86%. Once they get to the ventilator, it's a-
Dr. Dobson: Wait, did you say that those that are on ventilators tend not to survive?
Dr. Erik Axene: No, they don't. And the mortality rates are very high when patients get intubated or if they're placed on ventilator. The body's immune system fights it. And then you get, it's called a Cytokine Storm and the organs' systems fail and there's really not a lot we can do.
To maximize our care that we can deliver to our patient population, so we really have to do our part and do what we can do to flatten the curve so we don't get to a place where we can't deliver the care that we want to deliver. Actually, this has been a really neat thing for me to see. I reached out to the home builder that built my home to ask if he could help me build some plexiglass intubation boxes and right now as we speak, my home builder is not building homes. He's building intubation boxes for me, my hospital, firefighters, to more safely put people on ventilators. And it has been really neat to see the innovation and ingenuity of other Christians here in other walks of life helping me as a physician.
It's basically a plexiglass box that goes over the patient to decrease the transmission of coronavirus. And I could tell you many more stories, Dr. Dobson, of other people using their 3-D printers to make me valves for PPE that are out of stock and they're bringing them to the ER. It's been a really neat thing to see God using us. One of my colleagues started an organization, a nonprofit called Mission [Regin 00:10:58] where he collects expired medical devices and they've been distributing it all over the country to help people and it's an amazing ministry that has brought so much good from expired medical supplies now saving lives. It's really neat.
Dr. Dobson: We have several more minutes and I'd like to focus them on you. You and Deborah have two children, tell us about them.
Dr. Erik Axene: My daughter, Emily, is nine and my son, Ben, is 14.
Dr. Dobson: You mentioned earlier that they're quarantined. Are you able to hold them and be with them, have breakfast with them and touch them?
Dr. Erik Axene: Unfortunately, I don't. I really miss hugging them. We do have something that we do though just for some physical contact is we will back up into each other and kind of nuzzle our backs together a little bit. It's a silly thing that we do, but I'd like to share with you something my daughter did. She's in third grade and she on her own got her friends together. They started their own little Bible study to pray for people.
Dr. Dobson: That is precious.
Dr. Erik Axene: Dr. Dobson, it is the most special thing I may have ever seen. And I know that God is looking down on her and her friends with such a big smile. It is so precious seeing them work through scripture verses and praying for each other and their friends and it is the most beautiful thing ever. And you know what? Had this coronavirus thing not happened, I don't know that she would have done that. I just, I think I've seen wonderful things happen in my kiddos lives and this is one of the most precious.
Dr. Dobson: Are they able to get out with their friends? I know it's very difficult for young children particularly to not be able to get out and run and be with their friends.
Dr. Erik Axene: My daughter is better with technology at age nine than I am at age 45. She actually uses Zoom to communicate with her friends. She still goes to her ballet classes via Zoom in the front foyer of our home. They're finding ways to interact with one another. And I'll tell you what? I think these little kids having anxiety about this too. I know my daughter does and I'm so proud of her that she's reaching out to Christ with her young faith. It's beautiful.
Dr. Dobson: That is so touching. I wish I could hear them. Tell us about your son, Benjamin, and I know he's 14 years old and he's a freshman in high school. What else would you tell us?
Dr. Erik Axene: Well, my son, Ben, is worried about his dad. He's worried that I'm going to get sick and die. And those are very real fears for him. And these conversations have led now to him and I walking through, via FaceTime, we're walking through The Spiritual Disciplines by Richard Foster. And it's been a real encouragement to me to see him growing in his faith right now as we walk through this book as a devotional together. And so he is really growing so fast in his faith with Christ. I'm so proud of him and my daughter, Emily. And this coronavirus has been a time of refinement for them and I think that they're really responding well.
Dr. Dobson: Dr. Axene, it's obvious that you have a great heart for the Lord and that's what I love about you. May I ask you to close our program today by praying not only for Americans, but for the sick and dying people around the world?
Dr. Erik Axene: It'd be a pleasure to pray. Can I ask you how we can pray for you, Dr. Dobson and your ministry?
Dr. Dobson: Thank you, Erik. Shirley and I are sequestered and have been for several weeks in what I call my little writing condo in California. I've been working on a new book and have been since even before the pandemic. So we think we have had minimal exposure to this virus, but who knows? We rarely go out except to walk the streets to get exercise. There are very few people out there now because they're trying to protect themselves too. So we stay away from each other. So, I thank people for praying for us. Because of our ages, we are at higher risk I suppose. I would also like our listeners to pray for our staff in Colorado Springs. They're working at home and we're determined to be able to continue their salaries through this economic downturn. I also hope and I want to stress this, I hope our friends will pray for our president and his medical team, because I've been close enough to that to know that they're under enormous pressure today.
The media and other critics don't make it any easier. I plead with our listeners to pray for America's health care providers because they are literally putting their lives on the line every day. There is so much to pray for.
Dr. Erik Axene: Well, I'll pray for us. Heavenly father, all powerful God, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to serve you. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a physician in such a time as this. I pray for all of my physician brothers and sisters throughout the country. I pray father for strength for them and peace. Father, I ask for wisdom for healthcare workers, researchers in development of cures and vaccines, I pray your anointing upon them.
Father, I ask for a peace that surpasses understanding for patients and for people across this country who may be sequestered from their friends and family for patients who are in the hospital right now listening to this, I pray for healing. Father, I pray that your spirit would spread throughout this country faster than the virus and Father as we shut down borders here and we limit travel and isolate, I pray that your spirit would just spread and shatter these barriers and pray that your Holy Spirit will bring the healing that we really need through Christ.
Father, I thank you for the ministry of Dr. James Dobson. I pray that you keep him healthy and safe in California as he writes this book. I pray that those words will be anointed and bring healing. Father, I ask too for prayer for our leaders. Father, pray for President Trump, that you'd strengthen him and give him wisdom. Surround him with wisdom as he makes decisions.
Father, I ask for prayer for families right now who are separated. I pray for peace for them as well. Father, as we close this interview, I pray that you would be glorified. I pray that you would look on us and be full of joy as you see your children serving you and bringing you glory in loving one another and sharing your love, sharing the cross. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Dr. Dobson: Well, Dr. Erik, that was a beautiful prayer. This has been a very meaningful time for me. I've enjoyed talking to you even though the topic is so disturbing. Well, we're going to have to wrap it up because our time has gone. We've been talking for the last two days with Dr. Erik Axene, who is the medical director at Medical City Hospital in McKinney, Texas.
If you've missed either of these discussions or would like to hear them again, go to drjamesdobson.org and click on the broadcast page. You didn't really have time to be with us because you needed your rest today after being up all night, but what you've had to say will be appreciated by our listeners and I hope it'll motivate many, many people to be praying about various aspects of this epidemic.
Dr. Erik Axene: Dr. Dobson, I do love you like a brother. If there's ever anything I can do to serve you, you just let me know.
Dr. Dobson: God be with you, my friend.
Roger Marsh: A heartfelt and relevant conversation about the unprecedented times we're living in right now. You've been listening to Dr. James Dobson's two-part conversation with Dr. Erik Axene here on Family Talk. We ask that you join with us and continue to pray for the brave medical personnel everywhere. They are continuously putting themselves in harm's way to care for those who are sick. Visit our broadcast page at drjamesdobson.org to learn more about Dr. Erik Axene or to request a copy of this entire interview.
Again, that's drjamesdobson.org and then tap on today's broadcast page. If you yourself are in need of prayer, please know that we are always here for you. Call (877) 732-6825 and a member of our team will be happy to take the time to talk with you and pray with you. Again, that number is (877) 732-6825. Through these difficult times, please remember that the James Dobson Family Institute is here for you.
Thank you for joining us for the past couple of days here on Family Talk. For the remainder of this week we're going to revisit a classic broadcast about adult children of alcoholics. We know this is a difficult subject to discuss, but we also know it will speak to millions of people in our listening family. That's all coming up on the next edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh, thanks for listening. Have a safe and blessed day.
Announcer: This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
Dr. Dobson: Someone once said, if you remove the rocks from a brook, it would lose its song. Well, that holds true for you and me as well. Author, Scott Walker, tells of the time he was asked to help some friends dig through the ashes of their house after a fire. When they arrived, all that was standing was a portion of the outer brick wall. Where the piano once stood lay only a pile of ashes and twisted wire.
Nothing had survived the blaze, but while sifting through the debris, Walker came across a tiny china bluebird. He wiped away the soot to find that the colors were still bright. A few hairline cracks had formed in the glaze, but beyond that it remained intact. Walker writes, "As I gazed down at the bird's small beak and two black eyes, I wanted to weep. If only this little Bluebird could talk, what a story it would tell. A story of the heat of the night, of terror, of survival against great odds. And then the crucial question hit me. Why did this china bluebird survive? It had survived the fire because it had been tested by fire."
And so it is with human beings who have been refined in life's raging furnace. They are tougher, harder, and more resilient than those who have never faced difficulty in loss. That understanding may help us cope the next time the heat is turned up on our tranquil little world.
Roger Marsh: To find out how you can partner with Family Talk, go to drjamesdobson.org.
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Dr. Dobson: It used to be believed that most children were basically happy and carefree, but that's changing. Now, we're seeing more signs of serious depression in children, even as young as five years old.
Roger Marsh: Dr. James Dobson for Family Talk:
Dr. Dobson: Depression in adults is hard to diagnose and in children it's even more difficult. In adults, the warning signs of depression include diminished energy, tiredness, fatigue, a general loss of interest in life and sadness, crying, that low down feeling. If a five to 10 year old is depressed, he may show signs of lethargy. He may not want to get out of bed in the morning. He may mope around, he may show no interest in things that would normally excite him.
Sleep disturbances and stomach complaints are other warning signs. Another symptom can be open anger, hostility, and rage. He may lash out suddenly or unexpectedly at people or things around him. If you suspect your child is beginning to show the signs of depression, there are several things you should do. First, you should help put into words the feelings of the child and try to find an explanation for their sadness.
Make yourself available to listen without judging or belittling the feelings expressed. Simply being heard can go a long way toward lifting a child's depression. Finally, I urge you to seek professional help if you feel the problem is out of hand.
Roger Marsh: To get involved, go to drjamesdobson.org.