MP Lanny Wilson
DCMS member Lanny Wilson, MD, shares his thoughts on the special significance breathing has acquired during 2020 in this Member Pulse. All views are the author's.On May 25, 2020, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man was killed by a Minneapolis police officer while a bystander filmed critical portions of the event. During the last minutes of his life, with the policeman's knee pressed against his neck, George Floyd uttered the words, "I can't breathe."
These words became the rallying cry for protests throughout the United States and in cities across the globe. The phrase was familiar because in 2014 another Black man, Eric Garner, was killed by another policeman. While in a choke hold, Mr. Garner pleaded "I can't breathe" 11 times before dying.
"I can't breathe" have been the dying words of at least 70 victims of police violence in the United States, according to a 2020 report in The New York Times.
When someone says "I can't breathe" those present should react to help. The outrage after these deaths resulted from the arresting officers ignoring the victims' words.
The "rule of threes" has been used as a rough guide for how long a person can live without three of our basic life needs. A person will die if deprived of food for three weeks, and water for three days, but oxygen for only three minutes.
Most people can hold their breath for somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes; but death will occur within three and 10 minutes if a person is deprived of oxygen for that period of time. Mr. Floyd's neck was compressed for eight minutes and 47 seconds.
Life and breath go hand-in-hand. The COVID-19 pandemic is deadly because when the virus infects the lungs it causes an acute respiratory distress syndrome. At the same time we watched Mr. Floyd die because he could not breathe, thousands of people throughout the country were dying because they could not breathe.
My regret is that we will likely cure the COVID-19 pandemic much sooner than we will cure the cause of Mr. Floyd's and Mr. Garner's deaths. May we come to appreciate every precious breath of life and help to ensure that all human beings can enjoy that privilege.