Henry Ford Dr. Eric Johnson has never been to war.

But when COVID-19 landed on our shores, filling up America's hospital beds at an alarming pace with people having difficulty breathing, the 35-year-old anesthesiologist prepared for battle. He drove his two children to Ohio to stay with his sister-in-law and returned home to take on a pathogen that has stumped the medical profession in a way they didn't anticipate.

COVID-19 appeared to be one thing when it first surfaced in China— afflicting mostly the elderly and medically compromised — but has turned into something far deadlier and less discriminatory in the U.S.

The young and healthy are also dying, doctors say, and they can't figure out why.

"I've never been a soldier. I've never been in war. I will say that it's definitely hard because it's an enemy that we can't see," Johnson said. "It's definitely the biggest challenge I've had in my career."

Perhaps most challenging, Johnson said, is determining who has the best chance of surviving COVID-19.

"We can't say who is going to live, or who is going to die, because we are seeing a lot of young and otherwise healthy people who are succumbing to this infection," Johnson said. "And that's frustrating. That's where we're stumped."

Among the cases that has thrown doctors is the death of Detroit activist Marlowe Stoudamire, 43, a married father of two with no health issues who died Tuesday of COVID-19.

"He was a young, healthy vibrant guy — and now he's gone," Johnson said. "A plague is what this is ... Nobody's immune. This is real."

Johnson is among hundreds of health care professionals across metro Detroit who are putting themselves in the line of fire every day to treat the growing number of people who are being hospitalized for the highly contagious virus. The Free Press spoke with doctors at the University of Michigan, Beaumont Health Systems, Ascension Hospitals and Henry Ford to see what those on the front lines of this pandemic are up against.

Nurses. Aides. Orderlies. Physicians.

They all signed up to heal and help people, though many readily admit they face anxiety and fear every day of catching COVID-19, spreading it to their patients and bringing it home to their families.

It crosses their minds when they listen to an infected person's heartbeat, when they intubate a patient through the mouth to clear their airways and place them on a ventilator, when a mask slips off their face and falls on the floor. While many doctors are covered head-to-toe in spacesuits, others are not, with many hospitals dealing with protective-gear shortages and pleading for donations.

Some doctors aren't sleeping at home anymore. Some have set up an apartment in their garages. Many are stripping down and showering the minute they get home, leaving their clothes in the garage and instructing everyone not to touch them until they are scrubbed clean.

"It's only natural to have some anxiety," said Johnson, noting that the patients are equally anxious and fearful, especially those being placed on a ventilator.

"You can almost see it in their eyes," Johnson said. "They understand that they may not come off of this ventilator for days, weeks, or they may not come off at all. There's a little fear in anybody's eyes. But we try to be as reassuring as we can."

And when the anxiety gets too much, or answers seem scarce, the cerebral doctors turn to faith.

"On a personal level, those of us who do have faith traditions are appealing to our higher power," Johnson said. "This is a scope that we have not seen before and has the potential to only get worse."

'There is no pattern'

In nearly two weeks, the number of coronavirus cases in Michigan has exploded, from two to more than 2,800 as of Thursday. The death toll stood at 60 on Thursday and the state is under a stay-at-home order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Worldwide, nearly 467,000 people have been infected. Of those, 21,162 have died, 113,770 have recovered and the outcome of the remaining is unknown, according to the Johns Hopkins University live COVID-tracker.

"This is going to be a marathon. It's not going to be over in a week or two," said University of Michigan Dr. Vineet Chopra, who helps oversee the COVID-19 response team for Michigan Medicine. The team includes 130 medical professionals.

Chopra said the team is battling several obstacles, including protecting themselves and their patients against infection, finding drugs that work, and getting patients more quickly tested so that they can figure out who has it and who doesn't.

Perhaps most troubling, he said, is doctors still aren't quite sure what they're dealing with.

"With most diseases, there's a pattern we'd like to see. With this, there is no pattern. It's the old. It's the young. It's the healthy. It's the non-healthy," Dr. Chopra said. "A lot of doctors feel like they're on their back two heels."

As for himself, Chopra said he sometimes feels "tired, frustrated, uncertain" about the spread of the virus, and a little "deflated" about therapeutics.

"We have some drugs that might be helpful, but it's so early for us here," Chopra said. "We often feel, not powerless, but a little bit helpless. And you have to pray more than we normally would."

Another frustration for Chopra is telling families they can't be with their loved ones in the hospital room as they fight COVID-19. There is no typical waiting room anymore, he said. All communication is made to families by phone, not in person.

"It feels very weird not to do that," Chopra said. "But it's necessary. We don't want to infect them."

Chopra believes modern medicine is going to get a grip on this virus eventually. He said U-M doctors have been "ramping up" their efforts and that rapid testing is now available at Michigan Medicine.

"There's an important message to the public," Chopra said. "I feel like there is a lot of fear and anxiety. I understand that. And I don't think it's irrational. But everyone — and I mean everyone — is preparing for this. We are ramping up. We are ready."

The public just needs to do its part, he stressed: "Stay home."

'I'm not afraid'

Dr. James Robbins is a trauma surgeon at Beaumont Health, though he's not really doing many surgeries these days. Instead, like many of his colleagues, he's working around the clock treating COVID-19 patients, many of whom have wound up in intensive care.

Beaumont Health is adding about 100 new patients per day who have COVID-19, and surpassed 500 patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases Tuesday night, with another 200-plus suspected cases in the pipeline.

"I'm not afraid," Robbins said. "I'm concerned. I think everybody is appropriately concerned ... but I'm not seeing fear out there. I'm seeing some anxiety, determination and tremendous commitment."

Robbins is at Beaumont Royal Oak, which has 160 COVID patients who are scattered across the hospital. Most are in ICU, others are in makeshift COVID units, including one that's been set up on the orthopedic floor.

Robbins said Beaumont Royal Oak looks drastically different from two weeks ago, when the outbreak started. The atrium where people ate sandwiches and drank Starbucks is empty. The tables have all been cleared. The parking lots are sparse and the hallways are empty. Most of the entrances are locked down and those that are open are guarded by people in masks.

"Everything has changed," Robbins said. "It's extraordinary."

More: Beaumont Health CEO describes coronavirus pandemic as 'our worst nightmare'

But he understands why. A deadly virus has wreaked havoc on their community, and the hospital staff isn't sure when it will end.

"I've never seen anything like this. And I don't think that anyone practicing medicine in the United States has seen anything like it," said Robbins, who has been practicing medicine for 25 years. "This is an extraordinary event. But we're confident we're going to get through it."

According to Robbins, about 80 percent of the people who test positive for coronavirus do not get sick enough to be admitted into a hospital. But the 20 percent who do come in are suffering from respiratory distress, and a lot of help is needed to keep them alive.

Doctors are coming out of retirement to assist. Residents are shifting their schedules. Surgeons are helping in ER. But one group in particular is bearing the brunt of this outbreak.

"It's the nurses who are — much, much more than anyone else — shouldering the tremendous burden of this," Robbins said, adding the nurse's aides are also intensely involved. "They are tremendously stressed because they are pitching in and shifting around to make sure these patients are optimally cared for."

Robbins, meanwhile, is pleading with the public to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. He's also asking for people to donate blood, fearing a potential blood shortage, and for donations of protective gear. He says Beaumont is short on gowns, masks, protective goggles — all of which are needed to protect those on the front lines of this contagious deadly disease.

As for himself, Robbins said he's being extra cautious not to catch the virus — though he detests the bulky masks he has to wear. And he's meticulous about not bringing it home after his 12-hour shifts. He undresses in the laundry room, heads straight to the shower and then gets dressed for bed. He sleeps separately from his wife, "which hasn't been easy," he said.

Perhaps tougher is not going near his grandchild.

"I have a 1-year-old granddaughter," Robbins said. "It kills me because for the past week, I haven't been able to kiss her. "

So he blows her kisses instead.

'I'm optimistic'

Dr. Shaun Jayakar is a geriatric specialist at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit. His patients are the elderly, the population most susceptible to coronavirus.

"Our geriatric population — they're getting hit really hard. Nursing homes are rife with this virus," Jayakar said, noting some older patients are going in for rehab, only to pick up the virus.

What's especially alarming, Jayakar said, is that many of these patients are ending up on ventilators, when they shouldn't be otherwise.

"I'm seeing people who ordinarily would not be this ill, but are ending up on ventilators ... it makes you feel badly, sick to your stomach," Jayakar said. "I've had a couple of patients with positive tests. They're not doing great."

Jayakar said while he is mostly concerned with his patients, he also worries about the nurses and the ER doctors. He said the children of ER doctors are especially worried about their parents getting sick.

"They're getting slammed in the ER," said Jayakar, who believes many in the ER will inevitably get the virus. "I'm pretty sure I'll get it, too."

"Nobody's system has seen this bug before, so they don't have the antibodies," Jayakar said. "The big problem is there is no vaccine."

And that has everyone on edge, particularly doctors with families.

"It's always something in the back of your mind. 'Oh God, I don't want to get sick,'" said Jayakar, who is married with three children. "We're worried. What if we pass it on to our partners. Our husbands, our wives. And they get sick."

But that's part of being a doctor, he noted.

"That's what we signed up for," Jayakar said. "Our job is to help sick people."

So for now, he focuses on staying positive. He helps where he's needed in the hospital, encourages his colleagues to de-stress and try relaxation techniques, such as listening to music, reading, coloring or martial arts. And when he heads home after a long day at the hospital, he showers before seeing anyone, and comes down to his wife and kids in fresh clothes.

"I'm optimistic," Jayakar said. "With all the brilliant minds working from here to China to Italy, I think we'll all defeat this virus."

But in the meantime, he stressed, everybody needs to stay home.

"If we don't, it'll overrun our health system," Jayakar warned. "And many, many more people will get sick and die."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com