Over the past few years, I’ve come to understand the impact a nurse can have on someone’s life.
I witnessed the power of nurses when my grandma did dialysis treatments multiple times a week and when she was in palliative care.
When I did the marketing for BCIT School of Health Sciences, I learned very quickly that there are so many specializations of nurses from neonatal to perioperative. All of these nurses are so needed for our growing and aging population.
And now, working at the BC Women’s Health Foundation, nurses are essential to everything that is done in the hospital.
Earlier this week I wrote about the things I am thankful for during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those things are the frontline workers who are sacrificing their health to flatten the curve. The frontline workers are working hard to treat COVID-19 patients, but there are also patients that are still being treated for heart attacks, cancer, and more. The nurses and care providers that take care of them are also so brave and courageous.
I’m dedicating this Shero Saturday post to nurses, but specifically my friends, Sammy and Michelle. I’ve been friends with Sammy and Michelle for over 15 years and looking back, I always knew they were destined to become nurses.
A couple of days after meeting Sammy in grade eight homeroom, I started calling her “Mom” because she was responsible and took care of me in so many ways. Sammy also brought a traveller’s alarm clock when we were 16 years old on our high school Spain trip. Only someone destined to be a nurse would do that!
Sammy works at Vancouver General Hospital in adult acute medicine, She specifically supports those under treatment for leukaemia and bone marrow transplants. She’s continuing to nurse her immunocompromised patients during COVID-19 and has to be very careful so that she does not infect her patients. Not only are we staying home to prevent the spread of the virus, but we are staying home to protect health professionals like Sammy, so they can still do their jobs.
I got to know Michelle through field hockey in grade eight and her brilliance and knowledge shone in everything that she did. From the moment I met her, I knew I would want Michelle by my side if I ever had a medical procedure.
Michelle works in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at BC Children’s Hospital. She takes care of children on ventilators and children who require additional non-invasive breathing support with masks and oxygen. Based on the respiratory symptoms that COVID-19 patients have, she could be called upon to support if BC Children’s Hospital needs to admit overflow patients.
On a side note, Michelle is truly an angel and is painting in her spare time to raise money for small businesses affected by the pandemic. Send me a note if you’re interested and I’ll give you her contact information.
I am so incredibly proud of the work that Sammy and Michelle do. You can see how passionate and dedicated they are in caring for their patients. They are both brilliant human beings and I would be lucky to be nursed by them (note: that would never happen because it’s a conflict of interest, but you know what I mean).
While many of us are working from home, Sammy, Michelle, and other care providers are doing their jobs so that we can be a healthy province again. We need to do our part by staying home so that we can protect them and end this pandemic as soon as possible.
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