**SOME CORONA VIRUS REALITY**
I appreciate your time reading this thread. Not many of my followers interact w/my posts, but I feel if I reach just 1 person & it helps, or keeps even just a few people complying with the #StayHome orders issued around the world - I must write this.
I appreciate your time reading this thread. Not many of my followers interact w/my posts, but I feel if I reach just 1 person & it helps, or keeps even just a few people complying with the #StayHome orders issued around the world - I must write this.
I'm a healthcare worker. I work at a hospital in the epicenter of the #CoronavirusOutbreak in the #NewYorkCity area. Today I have symptoms of having contracted #COVIDー19. It was inevitable. My hospital has dozens of patients & staff that are positive & that I've been exposed to.
I am terrified. I am immunocompromised. I have no ability to fight this. I am an #EssentialWorker - a state employee - and was advised by my doctors very early on to stay home because of the severe impact this virus could have on me. I did not heed the advice. Here is why:
I am essential for a reason. My job is critical to the health & safety of our patients, my staff & my coworkers. Under normal circumstances, my position is one of high stress & long days. My staff look to me for reassurance & stability in our day-to-day lives.
What we are going through together right now is absolutely indescribable. There is no doubt that we are experiencing trauma from the things we are handling, seeing, & doing during this #pandemic. I have been working 14 - 16 hour days constantly for the past 3 weeks.
Exhausted isn't the correct word for it. There isn't a word for it. We are witnessing suffering & death. Operating under indescribable stress, anxiety & pressure to ensure we are doing everything we can to save lives & keep each other safe. We are being sent to war with no ammo.
We are putting ourselves and our families at risk every day we walk through the doors of the hospital. We are sacrificing ourselves to the greater good and we will carry the damage for the rest of our lives. I do not write this for your sympathy.
We chose our career paths and signed up for this - maybe not quite to this level - but the possibility has always been there. I write this to implore all of you to #STAYHOME!! We #HealthCareWorkers are being stretched to our limits and are beginning to break.
We are dropping like flies to this virus & there aren't enough of us to step in to continue to care for the ill at this pace. Stay home!! I am begging you! If you absolutely must go out, strictly practice #SocialDistancing, try not to touch surfaces, and doubt touch your face!
Wash your hands as often as possible! Hand sanitizer and gloves are not enough! But at all costs, remain at home as much as possible. The harsh reality is dead bodies are being piled in refrigerator tractor trailers or sitting out for 17 hours due to lack of space.
If your loved one is dying from #COVID, you WILL NOT be able to be there with them. They will suffer and die alone. Their body may be piled in a meat truck with other dead. There will be no funeral or burial to honor your loved one or come together with your family to grieve.
If you've read through this far, I'm eternally grateful! Feel free to share far and wide. The bottom line is we must #FlattenTheCuve for the sake of our loved ones and each other. #StayAtHome #StayAtHomeAndStaySafe #StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19Pandemic #pandemic #CoronaVirusUpdate
