Craig Young meets a dedicated professional on the front lines in the battle against Covid-19
DANIELLA TREZZI, a 34-year-old nurse from Italy working in a COVID-19 intensive care ward, made headlines around the world last week when she committed suicided after learning she had been infected with the disease. She was devastated by the idea that she could have spread the coronavirus, and with facing the relentless working conditions at the hospital in the epicenter of the pandemic in Europe.
So when I was presented with the opportunity to chat with Cara Lunsford, a local LA nurse, actively on the frontlines this week I jumped at it. Cara has been a nurse for over 13 years, starting in in the pediatric oncology at the Children’s hospital. She also created and runs an app called ‘HolliBlu” A resource and platform for nurses. Through her network she has been inundated by scared, overwhelmed and concerned health care workers up-and-down the country, and here in our own backyard of Los Angeles.
Her first words were “Please encourage everyone that can, to stay at home. A message we have been hearing from our government officials only to often. “You don’t want to get this, and you don’t want your loved ones getting it either.”
The news the nurses are receiving from their higher-ups changes daily. “We can start a shift in the morning with a brief that has completely changed by the end of the day. She said. “No one really knows what’s going on, every day we are entering uncharted waters”.
“They keep moving the finish line and it doesn’t help that we have a commander-in-chief who is helping to spread disinformation. We don’t have enough PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). The 3M masks that we have, we’re told are now good for up to five days of protection, which is odd, as previously we were told they would only last up to 90 minutes, so either 3M are in the pockets of the health care system or we are being lied to, today.”
I asked what can we, the public do to help, what if we have extra masks or boxes of gloves? She replied with “We also are low on nurses’ gowns. If you have extra at home, please think of donating these products by visiting Show Me Your Stethoscope facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/showmeyourstethoscopepage/) They will let you know where to drop-off – Or if you know a nurse or a hospital-worker, personally, get it to them and they will know how best to distribute them. Or ask in your community by using the Nextdoor app. Please don’t come to the hospitals.”
One of the most shocking revelations for me was, that nurses are being told to buck up by other ‘frontliners’. “Some law-enforcers and members of the military are repeatedly telling us told to soldier on, stop complaining and just do your job”. In which she reminds them that they (nurses) are not protected. “Would a cop go to a shoot-out without his bullet-proof vest or his gun to protect him? Would a soldier go into a war-zone with out the equipment he/she needs? She tells them “Then why should we? We are faced with an invisible and silent villain, that can strike us at any minute. Nurses didn’t chose this career for the accolades, prestige or financial gain, they chose it because they wanted to provide direct patient care and save lives.”
Later in the conversation, she asks for us, the general public, to be kinder to nurses, as morale is very low, especially right now. She recounts the story of one nurse who was yelled at for grocery shopping and told to get out by a fearful shopper, who assumed she must have the disease, or at the very least be asymptomatic.
“Please show us some respect, when you see us out and about. For what was already a thankless job to most. A burned-out profession”, she says “nurses are suffering from moral injury. Most people see us, as nothing more than a doctor’s assistant. When we all have our own licenses, and have been responsible for saving many lives.”
I told her about the effort in the UK of clapping for the caring community, wherein millions of Brits take to their doorsteps once a week and clap, cheer and make as much noise as possible to thank them. She warmed up and said “ That’s so lovely, I haven’t heard of that here; as of yet. But I know that me and my co-workers, would most definitely appreciate it.”
She goes on to say that, nurses in general are trained to not be alarmists “We are to generally the peacemakers, the calming influence, in fact. its usually hard to rattle us. So when we are pleading with you to stay home, please listen. If you are out of your house for so long that you may need to use the toilet that is not your own, well you are planning to be out for far too long.”
She tells me, the hospitals are seeing a downturn with admissions from accidents, that she puts down to less people driving and not being at work. But reasonably speaking it’s not making a huge amount of difference, as most are at capacity and becoming exclusively Covid-19 hospitals.
“Because of the lack of testing at the moment people are coming to the hospital in droves, mistaking the flu or the common cold with Coronavirus”. Cara recommends that if you are feeling the symptoms, (shortness of breath, a high fever and the dry cough) self quarantine yourself. This will help tame the spread of infection. Call your doctor, or phone a tele-medicine hotline. Invest in a Pulse Oximeter from your local pharmacy – This is a finger application that tests your oxygen levels – If you are above a reading of 95, she recommends to stay home and recover at the guidance of your doctor. But any worsening of the symptoms should be reported to your physician immediately. Our LA hospitals are overwhelmed now and we haven’t even reached the peak of this.
She is also seeing a worrying amount of nurses and hospital staff quitting, some cracking under the pressure, crying because they can’t hug their children or kiss their loved ones, “you know, just in case.” It won’t be long before we see the influx of unlicensed nurses and EMT’s with a lack of experience entering the scene, while this is appreciated, she adds she wouldn’t want to be the patient in that scenario, a million things can go wrong and will go wrong. Mistakes will be made. “We don’t have the manpower to look over every newbies shoulder.” Again she says she’s not trying to be an alarmist, and wants everyone to stay calm as being ‘afraid’ isn’t going to help.
She knows that nurses are needed at the frontlines today because we are facing a public health crisis unlike any we have seen in recent history. We are relying on nurses to educate the citizens and to control the outbreak of fear and misinformation.
Cara is confident that we will come out the other end and we’ll get though it all together. But goes on to say that, she is worried about the welfare and mental health of nurses. “After all this is over, there will be a lot of PTSD that’s for sure. So insight, HOLLIBLU have started a campaign called the #dobetter initiative where we highlight companies who are raising the bar and creating supporting environments for their nurses.
So next time you are out and about and you see an off-duty nurse… be kind, smile at them, tell them how much you value them and the work they do, thank them for their service. Perhaps buy them a coffee as these are scary times for all of us. Especially for them, YOUR nurses.
If you are a nurse or a retired nurse, consider joining Cara at Holliblu. Either visit www.holliblunurses.com or download the app on the AppStore or GooglePlay.
