By now, we've all been impacted by this pandemic in some way. It’s disrupted our lives and currently, there is no end in sight.
That reality is especially unsettling for our nurses and doctors.
My best friend Dani is a nurse educator in the cardiovascular ICU at a hospital in Florida. She says going into work right now is unlike anything she's ever experienced.
I asked Dani what her days are like these days.
"I feel like I’m walking into war. It is scary," she said. "I mean, we don't know when supplies are going to run out. We don’t know how many patients we're going to get through the door. We don’t know if these patients are positive or negative. So, we're treating everybody with symptoms like they're positive until otherwise ruled out, which is pretty nerve-wracking."
Dani has had to train her staff on how to wear protective suits and masks. It’s something she's never had to wear before.
"It’s just going to get worse. I just feel like this is the beginning and I think everyone feels this way."
Nurses have come to her crying, fearful they're going to catch the virus and bring it home to their families. It’s a fear she shares, but she has to put on a brave face for everyone else.
"I just think it’s the unknown that’s scary. What I’ve been telling my nurses is, 'You don't become a firefighter not to jump into fires and you don't become a nurse not to take care of sick patients, and these are sick patients,'” she said.
She says seeing people still not taking this seriously is extremely disheartening.
"We are busting our butts right now and we are scared and anxiety is high and we are doing the best that we can."
We all have a role in this, and how you react will impact our hospitals and healthcare workers.
"There is no way healthcare, in general, can fight this and win this COVID-19 spread if the community doesn’t help us out," she pleaded.
After working 12-hour days, Dani takes off her scrubs before walking inside her house. Those scrubs go into the wash immediately and she takes a shower before caring for her two young girls and spending time with her husband.
Over the weekend, President Trump said millions of masks and other life-saving equipment are being sent to all states. However, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said it’s like “the wild, wild west” for governors trying to get their hands on this protective equipment for healthcare workers.
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