Today is June 5th, 2020, and as a critical care nurse in northern Minnesota I can say we have been fortunate enough to have had the time to prepare for our surge that isn’t anticipated to hit until late July – early August.
One day in the recent year our everyday lives in and out of the hospital was changed, and it seems that some things will never be the same.
I have been watching in agony for about 6 months as the world has seemed to be crippled physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially but a novel virus.
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t gone through every emotion during this, and it hasn’t been easy. I have been angry, disappointed, in shock, anxious, and overwhelmed for starters.
We have all had to go through multiple and various stages of grief when it comes to the global pandemic and shut down.
It hasn’t been easy to watch the number of positive cases rise globally even with all of the efforts.
It hasn’t been easy to watch the level of human suffrage and the bodies pile up in coolers and military trucks around the world.
It hasn’t been easy to watch nurses and medical professionals cry out for the supplies that they need in order to do our job safely.
It hasn’t been easy to see some citizens assume it is all a hoax and the virus doesn’t exist and that its only a scare tactic.
It’s not easy because we see the death, we see how different the cascade of events is for the covid-19 patients in our medical and intensive care units.
We feel hopeless and an impending sense of doom as this is seeming to linger over our heads.
But scientists say… this is only the first wave based on historical nature of contagious viruses such as this one.
I think to myself… the FIRST WAVE? We have all been through enough and the first wave hasn’t even come crashing down in my corner of the world yet.
As we hold our ground, demand our PPE, and push forward through this pandemic, there is much to be remembered and much to be learned.
We are stronger together then we are apart. I have recently felt much closer to my fellow comrades as we work together to hash out the ugliness of it all.
We can only be as prepared as we possibly can, educate ourselves and other, and hope that nature sorts itself out and that we can eradicate this virus once and for all.
I want to thank each and every one of you for being there by my side, through this all, from one nurse to another nurse where every you are in the world, thank you. For any other healthcare worker reading this, this applies to you as well, thank you.
We cannot do this alone, but together. As our nations continue to battle the virus to “re-open” to save our burning economies, I wish you all the best of luck.
We need to remember to reach out to our brothers and sister in nursing and health care and cheer them on. We need to remember at the end of the shift, at the end of the day, and at the end of the pandemic, we all did it together.
United we stand as nurses, together we will fight, all together we will win.
Sincerely,
Your Fellow Nurse in Mourning
**Calling all Critical Care Nurs