A view from the COVID-19 bedside | Guest Opinion

We are tired! I have been an intensive care unit nurse for 20 years and my colleagues and I are weary from the devastating impact COVID has taken on patients.

At one point, on one of my shifts, three people died of COVID. I’ve never had three people die in one shift before. And this was COVID. It took three lives that day, that’s in a 12-hour shift.

When I went home, I was like “what the hell is going on?”

Due to a restriction of visitors to help limit the spread of infection, it is often the frontline clinical caregivers who find themselves not only providing medical care, but also serving as the patient’s care partner.

The other day I had a patient and she wanted to hold my hand. She wouldn’t let go. She was scared. So I stood there and held her hand for a while. When I would try to leave, she wouldn’t let go. Since you can’t talk while you’re on a ventilator, she just kept shaking her head ‘no’. She was so scared, I was glad I could be there for her.

Kadlec has recently seen an increase in the number of hospitalized COVID patients who require additional precautions for staff to take during treatment. Gowns, masks, gloves, respirators, and face shields all must be put on each time we go into a COVID patient’s room adding valuable seconds to our response time to an urgent patient need.

As physically and emotionally draining as the work has been, I take great pride in the incredible teamwork throughout Kadlec to care for patients, COVID and otherwise. It has been inspiring to see how our caregivers have come together during this health crisis.

Ask any nurse if they thought they would ever face an emergency like this, I’m certain they would agree we would never have imagined we would endure a worldwide pandemic that indiscriminately raced through our community forever changing the lives of hundreds of families.

I like to think my personality is one of humor and good nature. I admit it’s not been easy to maintain that demeanor during the COVID crisis. Still, I choose to focus on the wins. I’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve got a BIG win here. We have saved a lot of lives. And to be able to be part of that team, it makes me feel really good inside.

The community has stepped up in significant ways during the pandemic, with generous shows of support such as providing meals to health care workers. That has been a huge comfort to us.

As our community grapples with COVID, we have another “ask” of residents of Benton and Franklin counties.

Please wear a face covering when you’re out in public, maintain physical distance and wash your hands. I can’t wait to be able to enjoy a cold beverage with my friends on the deck of my favorite local restaurant. We all want our businesses to open up and need for that to happen. But, to do that, we all have a role to play. Let’s mask up to move up!

This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 12:59 PM with the headline "A view from the COVID-19 bedside | Guest Opinion."