DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis says the next few days will be telling as officials determine if Colorado has reached its COVID-19 peak. In New York City, fewer people are being hospitalized.

Doctors in Colorado have been learning a lot from their New York colleagues. Dr. Calvin Sun is part of that effort. He’s treating patients while sharing his experiences with the world through Instagram. His Instagram @monsoondiaries shows followers the terrifying reality of COVID-19.

“I’m just seeing death, death, death or people who are really sick about to die,” Sun said. 

Sun is an ER physician who works at various hospitals throughout America’s largest city. Every day, he’s under intense pressure to stay healthy to continue treating those with severe symptoms that — in some cases — go well beyond breathing issues.

“COVID-19 also causes diarrhea and abdominal pain and things that look like appendicitis,” Sun said. “Things that look like a heart attack. Things like stroke are also associated with COVID-19.”

Until recently, for those on the front lines, it was difficult to see a way out of the crisis.

“To have it every day — to pile on top of each other consecutively — is just too overwhelming for hospital systems anywhere,” Sun said.

Sun says fewer patients are now coming into his ERs. It’s a hopeful sign that staying at home is working.

“That is the most dramatic, profound change to our emergency room and care in the last five weeks,” Sun said. “That is the game changer.”

In Colorado, experts have every reason to believe that physical distancing will also be realized as a game changer in the coming days. But Sun says staying the course is key. A resurgence could mean overwhelmed emergency rooms moving forward.

“I literally had to resuscitate someone who went into cardiac arrest in the waiting room because the emergency room was too full,” Sun said.

To prevent that from happening in Colorado, Sun says people need to follow stay-at-home orders.