I spend my nights busting my ass to keep Americans alive. I don’t care what color they are, how much money they make or who they voted for because life is precious. I became a nurse because I believe that life is precious.
I remember my first semester in nursing school. We were all eager to get started on this new adventure. We felt like the chosen few.
Out of 400+ applicants, there were 125 of us sitting in front of a very dignified professor. We’d all heard about her. She was a boss.
She said to us, “I want you to look to your left. Now look to your right. One of the people sitting beside you will not be here at graduation. Not because you’re not smart enough but because being a nurse takes something out of you and you have to have enough to make it through.”
I feel those words so deeply right now. I’ve seen a lot in almost 2 decades of nursing. I’ve had many wins and many losses. I’ve been in rooms so thick with love and devotion from families who love my patients that it inspired me to push harder.
I’ve sat in rooms alone with strangers as they transition because no one should die alone. Every encounter has taught me something...as long as I was willing to learn.
At this point in my career, I’m considered a seasoned nurse. I’ve learned enough and experienced enough that I am charged with teaching and training the new nurses who want to be in critical care. I enjoy teaching at the bedside...seeing fresh faces ready to save the world.
I used to have a little speech I would give the new nurses. It was motivating but serious. I wanted them to know how special they are and the power to heal that has been entrusted to them...
Now. I don’t know what to say. Nursing is a science and science matters. But our science is drowning in partisan propaganda and our lives are being toyed with. These young women and men are getting out of school and placed on the frontlines of a war waged by a madman.
Please. Think of the 23 year old nurse working with me tonight that’s excited about her engagement and blushes when she talks about how wonderful her fiancé is to her. She is real.
Think about the 35 year old new grad that waited until his children were old enough so he could go to school to become the nurse he’s always dreamed of being. He is real.
Think about the possibility that I might not make it through this pandemic. If I don’t, I will leave my one year old without one of her moms...today is her birthday. She is real.
The thousands of people who have died are real. The pain their families feel is real. Our sacrifices and your future is real.
@realDonaldTrump lies are not. They are the poison that has plagued our country. His lies have lawmakers romanticizing loss of human life for money...money that you and I will never see or benefit from. Trump pulled funding from the WHO.
He did it because he doesn’t want you to know the truth. He doesn’t want anyone to counter his lies with facts.
You are real. Your power is real and he’s afraid of that. It is time to wield your power in such a way that we rid our country of a virus much worse than #COVID19 You can inoculate this country from the lies and we can emerge together with an immunity that protects us all.
Stay home. Practice social distancing. Practice good hand washing. Do whatever you need to do to stay alive so we can vote that virulent man child out of office.
Please. We have sacrificed enough.
