ROTARY DISTRICT 5890 SERVICE PROJECT:  "THANK YOU NOTES TO NURSES, OUR FRONT-LINE HEROES!"

Above is the daughter or our Past District Governor and First Lady, Gary and Janice.  Her name is Jennifer, which is a Rotarian and she is a nurse at a large Houston area hospital.  She came to tell her mom and dad that her unit is becoming an All-COVID-19 unit.  That means ALL of her patients have the COVID-19 virus. 

 

Consequently, she wouldn't be able to see her family for the next several weeks or months.  Jennifer's dad has diabetes and heart issues, so he is at high risk for this awful virus.  She does not want to risk spreading the virus when she is off duty, and her parents could see the stress in her face as they talked about what she is about to do. Jennifer wrote the posts below (See "Jennifer's Message" below) on Facebook recently about COVID-19.

 

Nurses don’t get a lunch hour.  They rarely get breaks.  They are on their feet for 12 hours, sometimes more.  Now they are expected to care for patients who might be carrying a very easily transmittable virus. In Jennifer’s unit, all of them DO have the virus.

 

They are short of supplies, not because the hospital doesn’t want them to have the personal protection equipment they need, but because the hospital doesn’t have enough to give them.

 

Jennifer and the nurses like her, will risk their health, maybe their lives, to care for the sick.  They will sacrifice time with their families.  They will work then self-quarantine then go back to work again. They have to assume every surface they touch, every person they contact has the virus.  It must be stressful, exhausting and it is dangerous, but they do it anyway.

 

Do you have students schooling at home?  Add an assignment.  Write a note to Nurse and tell them they are our heroes.  Tell them we appreciate what they are doing.  Let them know we appreciate their sacrifice for us all. 

 

Ask the children to draw pictures of the nurses or their hospital.  Make the notes uplifting and positive.  Give these nurses something to smile about.  Grown ups can write notes too.  What better way to teach than by example. 

 

No children living at home?  That’s ok, write your own note...and draw some hearts to share your appreciation to the nurses. 

 

Send them to the "Chief Nursing Officer" at the hospital(s) of your choice.  If you Google your local hospital you may be able to find the name of the Chief Nursing Office (CNO), and the mailing address.  Learning to research can be a lesson too!

 

Send it to your local hospital or to the hospital that cared for you or family members.  The important thing is to write send them to hospitals of your choice.  The Chief Nursing Officer will see that the notes get to the nurses on the frontlines of this war on the COVID-19 virus!  

 

 

Today.
Today my hands bled from the amount of times I’ve washed them.
Today my patient cried when she saw the amount of layers and the face shield I have to wear to come into her room.
Today my patients fever didn’t break.
Today my patient had immense fear as she waited to find out if she was positive for covid-19.
Today I monitored my patients heart rhythm carefully because the medications he is taking put him at risk for an arrhythmia.
Today I donned and doffed PPE so many times I lost count.
Today I drew blood on every one of my patients.
Today I could only see my own mom from a few feet away.

But today...
I watched my unit work as a team.
I held my patients hand and told her WE would get through this together.
I worked tirelessly to break my patients fever, even if I wasn’t successful.
I shared elbow bumps with my team.
I laughed with my team.
I laughed with my patient.
My patient told me that my positive attitude helped HIM get through his day.
My patient told me she could get through this.
My patient finally started to eat his meals again.
My team got to enjoy a warm meal provided to us by someone kind.
I got to give my team cloth masks and supplies to help them make their job a little easier from special people in our community.
I got to give my team snacks from people in our community.
I got to see my mom today.

Everyday is a successful day on the covid unit. We make a difference every single day. ❤️

 

 

Covid 19 is scary.  My thoughts have been jumbled. The anxiety has been high. I understand the general public’s fear. I understand the business owners need to return to business as usual. I understand that parents need to send those kids back to school and get back to work to catch up on the bills. I understand that you have been comparing this to the flu. I’m not mad at you. I don’t even fault you. You didn’t know.

 

You didn’t know that this virus was unlike anything we have seen in healthcare before. That it has claimed over 3,000 deaths in the United States this month. That the number of cases is doubling every 4 days. You didn’t know that it has mutated multiple times since it’s origin thus making it more difficult for us to treat.

 

You didn’t know that at hospital facilities in YOUR area we have been working tirelessly to reduce the number of deaths, the number of cases, and the risks. We have implemented policies left and right down to absolutely zero visitors with very little wiggle room.

 

You didn’t know that if YOUR loved one comes to me and they are sick or dying, you cannot come too, in order to make them more comfortable.

 

You weren’t aware that the last moments a covid-19 patient might experience are the hands of a nurse, holding them and telling them they aren’t alone. You weren’t aware that healthcare workers are working tirelessly around the clock without the promise or guarantee that adequate supplies will be available to properly protect them.

 

I don’t fault you for thinking I signed up for this. I don’t fault you for thinking that this is “just my job”. I never imagined this when I walked into nursing school. No one did. I don’t fault you for not taking this seriously when we starting implementing strict rules and asking you to comply. It was all so hazy in the beginning. No one knew.

 

No one knew that we would turn entire hospitals into COVID units, that people we know and love would face this virus head on, that we would lose people that WE know.

 

It never happens to US right? This virus doesn’t only pick the elderly. It doesn’t just pick people with pre-existing health conditions. It picks anyone and everyone who isn’t vigilant. I know, because I watch it, everyday. I live it.

 

Stop saying the words “did she have pre-existing health conditions”, or “but how old was he?” It doesn’t matter. Her life or his life is not any less meaningful. YOU can make a difference. YOU have the ability to change the course of this virus.

 

It’s simple. Be vigilant. Fear is okay. I am afraid too. But I still go to work and I still do my job with everything in me.

 

Wash your hands, use sanitizer. Stop going out unless it’s for food or groceries. When you return, wash your clothing and your hands and leave those shoes in a separate area. Now that you DO know, it’s up to you.

 

What are you willing to give up to save your neighbor. What are you willing to stop doing to save your family?"