On the front lines of a pandemic

One New York doctor, with Wabash Valley ties, is recounting his experience on the front lines.

And asking people to take things more seriously.

To follow this story.

"this has really kind of caught our whole medical system off guard."

A new york doctor with wabash valley ties is giving us a first hand look at the devastion covid-19 is causing in the health world.

News 10's sarah lehman is live in our newsroom tonight.

She talked with that doctor who's working on the front lines.

She has more on what he's dealing with and why he's asking "you" to take this seriously.

New york is being hit hard by the coronavirus and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.

One doctor in new york -- originally from washington indiana -- says he doesn't want his present to become our future.

You may remember this name... nat} "defensive end ben obaseki was named missouri valley conference defensive player of the week" a defensive linemen for indiana state football and washington high school ben obaseki grew up in the wabash valley.

"really grew to love the community there and it will always be apart of me."

But now -- instead of working on tackling the quarterback on the field... he's working on tackling this virus in the medical field.

"i'm in the middle of my second year of a three year residency program for emergency medicine and i'm doing this in brooklyn new york."

New york -- the epi center of the covid 19 pandemic.

"a lot of the people i work with some of the older attendenings will say that they've never seen anything like this in their career and these are people who have been practicing for 20 30 and 40 years."

He says right now -- patients are waiting in lines just to get seen.

He says they don't have enough equipment... they're understaffed..

And overwhelmed.

" there were warning i'm not sure we were hearing those warnings as we should have and because of that now we're behind the ball /// with things like covid and viruses such as covid it's really dangerous to get behind the curve because once it gets going it's very hard to catch up and to gain ground."

So why does all of that matter to you in the wabash valley?

Obaseki says new york has over 70 acute care facilities.

They thought it would be enough and they would be okay.

"just thinking of the hospitals in my community where i grew up.

I just hope and wonder do they have the resources necessary to handle large influx of people if it comes to that.

And i hope they do but i fear they dont."

He says he doesn't want what's happening in new york -- what he's experinecing first hand.

To happen in small communities like here.

"i'm hoping me speaking and giving my message across to my hometown and my home community that people will hear this warning and really take it to heart.

/// but time will tell what happens and what happens is going to depend in large part on how seriously we take this.

Right now predictions are 100 to 200 thousand deaths in the u.s. before this is all over.

Obaseki says if we don't take this serious we will see closer to the 200 thousand number or maybe even more.

Reporting live in the newsroom sarah lehman news 10 back to you.