A tribute to Diederik Gommers
The first time I saw him calmly explain how the chaos broke out in the ICU was at the Jinek table. Calm man, clear in his explanation and above all: very honest. The experts shuffled every evening on the talk shows and I usually tuned in where Gommers was. By now, Diederik Gommers has become my Instagram hero.
If you had a news-poor half year because you became quite depressed from the corona news: Diederik is actually the ICU boss of our country. He works as an intensivist at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, but he is also the chairman of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care, which makes him so important in this corona crisis. Gommers was intensively involved in counting beds and scaling up. He is part of the Outbreak Management Team that gives advice to the cabinet. He brought a report to the House of Representatives about the situation in the ICUs during the (so far) hottest part of the corona battle. And as a result, he has also become a well-known Dutchman. So, Diederik.
We love Diederik (I hope I can call him Diederik). Even if it's just for his dry reporting that everyone is positive and warm about his Instagram membership, except for his son. Or by his question of whether he should perhaps also share a special beer on his timeline alongside his daily concerns. Let's not forget his short haircut in the barber's chair to look a bit younger at Jinek. But mainly because he engages so openly and honestly in conversation with Famke Louise and asks her what the doctors could have done better. Hats off to Famke too, by the way, I think it's impressive how she publicly adjusts her viewpoint by visiting Diederik in the hospital (we'll do the tribute to her later).
Tell me who you follow and I will tell you who you are is more applicable to people these days. Diederik managed to get 247k followers in a blink of an eye, but how does it work the other way around? I zoomed in on the seven who have the honor of being followed by Diederik. Of course, we start with Famke-who-is-not-Louise, well-deserved, that follow from Gommers. The NOS can also count on Diederik's support, just like the RIVM. Then we have three times the employer, or the Erasmus MC, always wise. But the funniest? Unitas Saturday 3 aka a team from the football club in Gorinchem, which calls itself not good but cozy. I didn't know it was possible, but I find Diederik even more likable now. Maybe it's also because of his bouncer line at Jinek last night: “If you need to get quite drunk sometimes, fine.”
The call for more Diederik in politics is something we hear a lot in this crisis. As far as I'm concerned, you can just not do it, then at least we all continue to like you.
