Letter: UVM denies cardiac rehab services to the unmasked?

This letter is by Rebecca Welker of Winooski.

My 69-year-old mother has recently started cardiac rehab at UVM after having a heart attack Dec. 7 and triple bypass surgery Dec 14. She was discharged Dec. 21. Recovery is going excellent, she is already back to work part-time, and we had a beyond sublime experience with the nurses, doctors and her surgeon.

Beginning on Dec. 7, mom asked anyone who entered her room if they were comfortable with her not wearing a mask because of the difficulty she encounters while trying to breathe with one on (even while seated doing nothing). Every single person told her she was fine, so she did not wear one for the duration of her two week stay in Miller on UVM campus. After surgery, during hallway exercise with PT, she was allowed to pull the mask down below her nose (because it was obvious to everyone that it labored her breathing). Mom has struggled with masks since 2020 and has even been allowed at work to pull hers down below her nose.

Since Dec. 21, she has had her body composition taken by a doctor outside of the UVM network, where she was told she has a dangerously low level of muscle mass; in fact, if she were to fall, there is a 30-40% chance that she would die within a year due to inability to heal. She also had a follow up chest x-ray at UVM on Jan. 24 that showed there is some fluid lingering in one of her lungs, and therefore her respiratory system is not functioning at 100% (which it was prior to surgery — yet still masks very obviously labored her breathing). It is also worth noting mom has never had a regular exercise regimen. These two points are mentioned as additional factors for concern of her inhibiting breathing while exercising.

Now that she is ready to start what has been deemed medically necessary Phase II cardiac rehab (we left with a discharge order on Dec. 21), we have encountered an absolutist policy that translates into her being denied services if she is unable to exercise while wearing a mask. We have been told she absolutely cannot even pull down beneath her nose due to “policy” and “safety” of everyone in the gym. This is ironic because one of the first things communicated by the nurse leading cardiac rehab orientation was that safety is the priority in the gym and there is no “one-size-fits-all” exercise program — she, in fact, stated everyone’s exercise will be tailored to their individual fitness level. When I inquired in front of the group about masking being a one-size-fits-all policy, the response was just short of an eye roll. I recognize that this topic has become quite a political issue, but that is not what this is. Mom wants to be able to exercise safely, which entails breathing efficiently.

In all honesty, I am confused on how masks maintain “safety” when there is no COVID emergency in the community. There are no current outbreaks — including at local gyms where folks are exercising less than six feet apart without masks. The CDC shows Vermont with very low numbers as has been the case all along; the state of emergency was dropped by the governor in summer 2021, and the CDC dropped their recommendation for masking in health care facilities in September 2022. There are no mask mandates anywhere in the community.

Prior to 2020, UVM medical center has never required masks during the winter season, yet flus and viruses have always circulated — I suspect even in the cardiac rehab gym. I understand many participants of cardiac rehab are recently out of surgery and potentially more susceptible to illness, but this has always been the case. Yet prior to 2020 masking (while exercising) was never deemed “necessary for safety.”

Rebecca Welker
Winooski, VT

Image courtesy of Public domain

11 thoughts on “Letter: UVM denies cardiac rehab services to the unmasked?

  1. The Vermont ‘death cult’ is flourishing – and being recognized for what it is.

    Live Free or Die in Vermont.
    https://granitegrok.com/blog/2023/02/live-free-or-die-in-vermont

    It’s all reminiscent of the Twilight Zone episode – To Serve Man, in which aliens provide a manual, the first half of which is translated to show how earthly humans can be healthy and thrive). Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to ‘Vermont’, which is described as a paradise.

    My advice to out-of-staters…

    As the Twilight Zone episode comes to an end and the protagonist, Mr. Chambers, is boarding a ship to Vermont to see for himself, a colleague who finally deciphers the last half of the ‘manual’, runs to the loading gate, and too late yells this warning – Mr. Chambers, don’t get on that ship! The rest of the book, To Serve Man, it’s… it’s a cookbook!”

  2. Just as this whole mess started in 2020, We were and am still denied transportation from the local NEMT company.

    I forcibly had doctor’s appointments canceled and my wife was all but forcibly removed from the rolls of the local doctors office , no, to be precise, she was BANNED from the whole COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS OF THE RUTLAND REGION, INC. network (I have the letter to prove it still). All for refusing to wear a mask ( my wife has had COPD for over a decade) and not having the tech for a Zoom call. We have no car so we could not even get her to the doctor’s anyway.
    Presently, because of our lack of care , we are slowly getting better but in some ways sicker. We cannot get my wife a inhaler except for the Primatene Mist. Which is not good as it does bad things to the heart. (which she has been experiencing) We both need to see a dentist and both need to see an eye doctor. We had an incident in 2021 where we had to, out of desperation, called an ambulance to help my wife. They left us refused, because my wife, who was having breathing difficulties (COPD), was told she could not get into or ride the ambulance without a mask on. About 30, if that, minutes later a VT state cop called. Apparently the MVA called because she refused to wear mask and take ride and I demanded they leave my property even the cop was baffled. There were no threats or violence just us refusing to have them suffocate my wife in route to hospital, which you also cannot enter without a mask. We have had to get medical supplies that would normally be paid for with our insurance but cannot get a doctor to write the proper authorization for us. So we are out thousands of dollars , on a fixed income, we can not really afford.

    My wife is actually going blind, but again, cannot get into eye doctor of any kind with out that mask. Please understand that before this con she was told that she needed special special eye care services to keep from going blind, and as they put it , it needed to be done ASAP. Well she is defiantly going blind and well, without a mask, she will continue to. SHE says, as well as I, that some things are not worth our soul. I have a need to see a life saving doctor/specialist for my operation in 2010 and because of this whole lockdown/mask garbage he passed away. Now how to I get the medical stuff I need done. VT doctors are beyond incompetent except to experiment on people. And I had to see him because of that incompetence (Yes I have paperwork to prove THAT too). Mengele would be proud of their behavior.
    I as well as many I know, would DIE before compliance with a “illegal” mandate” (not a law) as well as advice from stooges who are just about getting paid from the CCP to make our lives more difficult. People need to remember, most of all, that the Constitution was and is a rulebook. Not just a cute do nothing piece of paper. Rules for the GOVERNMENT. The bill of rights is a list of “WE are sure you know these are rights ” to not be infringed but there may be more. Stand up for your medical rights, EVEN IF IT KILLS YOU. Why not, that is what they are trying to do. At least you are in control of you.
    Finally a question, HOW COME THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS NOT DOING THIS AND DOING JUST FINE, IN FACT, BETTER?

    • BTW you cannot fight this in court, unless you wear a mask in court. Also find a lawyer, we have tried, they all say like it was on a card that they are not going to fight the state.

      Roland Metivier
      thanks for the link… more proof of the lies.

  3. this is so sad and insane to continue~ Yet, here are grown adults, assuming WITH reasoning skills, unable to see the tree because of the woods (Or something ike that!). We must continue to say NO and fight for the healthcare workers who are now getting ill, 3 years into this forced masked servitude at the government’s leisure.

  4. I had an aortic valve replacement done in 2020 at Dartmouth Medical in Lebanon NH, I was 71. There was another several weeks of PT rehab at Brattelboro Memorial as well as a few returns to Dartmouth Medical Center in Lebanon NH for fluid related issues.

    At NO time at Dartmouth was I required to wear a mask in my room but the PT in Brattleboro required masking which I could not not handle, so I quit as they would not accommodate my needs. Just kept walking a few miles every day instead.

    I have had similar issues with my Dentist for mask wearing, I have a beard, masks do less than nothing for beards, but they are clueless and there is no use in questioning their faulted judgement, so I got a new Dentist in NH. Problem solved.

    • I believe New Hampshire is still part of the United States. Vermont is under the control of the CCP. The CCP contract was made February 2019 with Phil, Jim and David under the Golden Dome. All with the blessings of our Congressional delegation, who are in allegience with Washington DC, a captured territory. Our UVM overlord healthcare is under control of the eugenist globlist Rockefeller Foundation and all it’s subsideraries, CDC, NIHS, WHO, WEF…etc.

      • We’re part of the United States so far Melissa.. but we are suffering as well.
        NH is being invaded by people fleeing the extremism in all of our deep blue dysfunctional neighboring states now.. then they continue to vote for what destroyed their own states. We’re pretty concerned about what we see going on right over our borders- it’s unnerving- to say the least.

        We have a whole lot of fear over here of sinking under the weight of invaders ourselves.
        When NH is gone, this entire region of the nation is gone- and this is a real possibility.

        • Vermont is under control of the same evil syndicate controlling DC at this time. I cannot visit my mother in the nursing home without wearing a mask, taking my temperature, and answering invasive questions about my health. It has nothing to do with COVID – it is data collecting on behalf of the dirty Feds, VT Health Department, and UVM. All against current CMS guidelines (basically, they punted the mandates in September 2022 and leave it up to individual facilities to implement or not.) I will not comply with a lie. I will not perform their satinic rituals like a trained seal for their amusement and data collecting. A pure form of evil is illegally placing conjured conditions upon Amercian citizens to receive medical care or visit loved ones in long term care. The war is real and the evidence of it is how other Americans are doing the bidding of our enemies.

          • Melissa, NH has a Constitutional Right To Privacy- one of the best things we ever did. And who knew how important this would be.

            I agree with you, we are at war and not enough people really get this.
            It’s us against the useful idiots.

    • Yirgach this is all about CONTROL.
      It’s not even about medical care at this point- it’s about controlling the people.

      I truly don’t think that Vermont is even an American state at this point.

      You are all being abused by the government.. truly you are.
      You have but one life, move out of Vermont!

Comments are closed.