Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday attacked the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Eight months into the crisis, Biden said the president "still doesn't have a plan, " adding "he's quit on you." (Oct. 23) AP Domestic

In 2003, Peter Young and Daniel Freeman were classmates inwhat was thenthe new Alternative School for Math &Science in Corning.

The two men, now both 30, grew up only a few miles apart, one in Corning, the other in Big Flats. Eventually, theyboth became doctors.

And in the spring of 2020,their paths weretogether again in a shared mission, hundreds of miles apart.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck an unsuspecting populace earlier this year, both men found themselveson the front lines of a harrowing life-and-death battle.

Young was a senior resident at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City when the deadly and mysterious virus unleashed its devastation.

Dr. Peter Young(Photo: Provided)

More than 800 miles to the south, Freeman was performing similar duties at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

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Despite years of college, medical school and internships, neither man was quite prepared for the frightening and surreal scenes they were about to experience.

"I got called in on a Sunday to take over for a colleague who was sick with COVID-19," said Young, 30. "It felt apocalyptic. People looked like they were out of a Mad Max movie, wearing gear they brought from home. We realized (the virus) spread through our community like wildfire."

As part of his residency in Atlanta, Freeman spent timein various departments to give him a well-rounded hospital experience.

Dr. Daniel Freeman(Photo: Provided)

In February, he was doing labor and delivery of babies. A month later, he was in the children's emergency department, and when the COVID-19 pandemic took grip in mid- to late March, he was in the adult ER.

What Freeman remembers most about those early days is the virus was new and nobody really knew what to expect although they quickly found out.

"When it started, we knew very little," Freeman said. "You get used to identifying patterns. That's how you diagnose people. With COVID, we had no idea what it was going to look like or how to diagnose it. There was a great deal of uncertainty at the beginning.

"We realized early that COVID-19 can lead to blood clots and heart attacks. We were seeing a lot of them," he said. "I never felt overwhelmed. I do remember having a sense of dread that something really bad was going to happen."

For Young, the experience at times was overwhelming, in part due to the relentless flow of infected patients, and the fact that initially, so many of them died.

"The first patient who died was 37. He died quickly and horribly," Young said. "That was the moment it got really scary for me on a personal level.

"We were making life and death decisions. For me, the trauma of that will last for a while," he said. "I remember making decisions where people died. Living with that is going to be challenging. None of us were prepared for this. People were dying so fast we were looking for places to put bodies so we could bring more (patients) in."

Freeman and Young were always science-minded, and that, coupled with a desire to help other people, led them both into medicine.

Freeman, who graduated from Notre Dame High School in 2009, earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie in 2013, and his medical degree in 2019 from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

He then followed his wife to Atlanta, where she had a job lined up.

Corning native Dr. Peter Young shows off the personal protective gear he wore while dealing with COVID-19 patients in a New York City hospital.(Photo: Provided)

Young, graduated from Corning-Painted Post East High School in 2009, and also studied chemistry, along with creative writing, at Williams Collegein Williamstown, Massachusetts, graduating in 2013.

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Young earned his doctorate from Columbia University's medical school in 2017. In June of this year, he completed his internal medicine residency training at Columbia.

Young and his wife have since relocated to Los Angeles, but his time in New York City earlier this year gave him an opportunity to experience both the pandemic and the blossoming social justice movement.

The early tidal waveof COVID-19 cases eventually eased, and both doctors have gotten on with their lives and careers.

Freeman is still practicing in Atlanta, and he and his wife areexpecting their first child in December.

Freeman said the experience will have a lasting effect on his outlook, both professionally and personally.

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"It has made me more comfortable handling critically ill patients. It's learning how to keep everyone calm and trying to organize everyone and work as a team," he said. "In terms of my own life, I still come home and undress outside the house, and put my clothes in the washer. I have a lot of anxiety about bringing that stuff home.

"My wife has been fantastic through this whole thing," Freeman said. "We're still dealing with something we don't really understand."

Young and his wife live in West Los Angeles, and Young recentlystarted a new fellowship at UCLA Medical Center.

It's a much different environment from the one Young experienced while working inemergency rooms during the early COVID-19 onslaught, but that experience had a profound impact on his calling as well.

"I learned the importance of being really up front with people about loved ones. They needed to hear that their loved one was dying," Young said. "End of life care is something I'm interested in. (The pandemic) definitely helped me realize how precious life and health is.

"It was a privilege to be there for my patients and the community," he said. "I wouldn't trade that for anything."

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2 Corning-area natives experience COVID-19 pandemic battle on the frontlines - Star-Gazette