Schlank
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 25, 2007
- Posts
- 417
Nurses on the front lines. Meet the heroes dealing with coronavirus
"After fifteen years working in the emergency room of a hospital, I've never seen anything like this before," Sara Wazlavek says.
The nature of her job can shift by the hour.
"Rules, policies and procedures are rapidly changing based on the new data that comes out daily," she tells CNN.
One thing doesn't change: her fear of bringing the virus home. Nursing is Wazlavek's calling, but her identity is mother and wife.
"No one wants to put their family's lives on the line. I come home with the knowledge that I might be bringing Covid into my home, that it could kill me, my husband or my kids. I didn't think becoming a nurse would mean possibly losing my family, or that I would be the cause."
But Wazlavek reports for her shifts because there's a pandemic to fight, and she's a nurse.
"Not everyone can do this job. It takes training. If everyone who was afraid quit, who would be left. What makes me so special that I can stay home when others are putting their lives at risk? I want to help my coworkers. I can't abandon them. I want to help the people in our community who need us. I can't abandon them either."
Wazlavek says that for now, her hospital has enough gloves, masks and gowns to keep her relatively safe.
"For how long though?" she wonders out loud. "What happens if they don't? Do I go to work, put my life, my family's lives, at risk even more than I already am? Or do I leave the hospital and patients to fend for themselves?"
Wazlavek does not consider herself a hero. But for people who want to honor her sacrifice and grit, she has one suggestion: stay home.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/health/world-health-day-2020-trnd/index.html
"After fifteen years working in the emergency room of a hospital, I've never seen anything like this before," Sara Wazlavek says.
The nature of her job can shift by the hour.
"Rules, policies and procedures are rapidly changing based on the new data that comes out daily," she tells CNN.
One thing doesn't change: her fear of bringing the virus home. Nursing is Wazlavek's calling, but her identity is mother and wife.
"No one wants to put their family's lives on the line. I come home with the knowledge that I might be bringing Covid into my home, that it could kill me, my husband or my kids. I didn't think becoming a nurse would mean possibly losing my family, or that I would be the cause."
But Wazlavek reports for her shifts because there's a pandemic to fight, and she's a nurse.
"Not everyone can do this job. It takes training. If everyone who was afraid quit, who would be left. What makes me so special that I can stay home when others are putting their lives at risk? I want to help my coworkers. I can't abandon them. I want to help the people in our community who need us. I can't abandon them either."
Wazlavek says that for now, her hospital has enough gloves, masks and gowns to keep her relatively safe.
"For how long though?" she wonders out loud. "What happens if they don't? Do I go to work, put my life, my family's lives, at risk even more than I already am? Or do I leave the hospital and patients to fend for themselves?"
Wazlavek does not consider herself a hero. But for people who want to honor her sacrifice and grit, she has one suggestion: stay home.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/health/world-health-day-2020-trnd/index.html
