I want to lead with this FB post. This is from one of our nurses. She is 9 months pregnant and she contracted Covid at work. It speaks volumes of what this virus is doing to our healthcare professionals and other essential workers. These are young professionals at the beginning of their careers and their adult lives.
I beg you. If you can stay home, please do. Please do not join the movement to reopen before it is medically safe.
“Everyday is a struggle.
I so badly just want to wake up and feel better.
Most nights I cry myself to sleep wishing I could just feel good again.
Still spiking mild fevers daily.
Sometimes when I wake up, I get a false sense of hope that I’m feeling better.
Then I get up and am winded walking to the bathroom which is 10 feet away.
I’m completely exhausted, weak & tired.
When I wake up, I can’t grip anything & sometimes I can’t close my hands to make a fist from such severe inflammation.
The only way I can describe this is like aging 20-40 years overnight.
I feel like I’m so short of breath & sometimes like I’m drowning.
I will not let this win, I will keep swimming.
The baby is doing well, which is the main thing driving me to fight.
I’m still going to kick COVID-19 in the face!! I will win this fight!
I wish I could provide a cheery positive update & look forward to the day I can.
I’m thankful I’m able to still manage at home!
Please love yourself, your families, the air you breathe, the gift of life that you have ever single day, & pray//put some positive vibes out there for me. Back to bed rest for me 💗”
I also want to share these comments to some of our HCW who are on the front lines.
Kudos:Lunch last weekend was donated by a very grateful family- the Joseph Grzelak Memorial Foundation and in honor of Kennedy Ann Whitmore. Kennedy is my 4 month old daughter who passed away on February 26th. She had a heart condition and was brought to the Backus ER by ambulance that night and they tried so very hard to save her and they were so supportive. We really appreciate all they did that night and do every day! ❤️“I just wanted to drop you a note of well deserved positivity. I came through the ER very early this morning for abdominal pain. Every single person I encountered from the front door to discharge was pleasant, caring and compassionate. Your team had me in and out in 3 hours!!! Most of all, from a patient perspective in room 13, you can't help but overhear muffled chit chat at the nurse's station. What I heard were coworkers joking with each other and laughing. I cannot begin to tell you how happy it made my heart to hear front line workers genuinely laughing and enjoying their jobs at 0400!
Yes, our Healthcare Members are heroes.
But they do not want to be heroes.
They want to be caregivers.
I am somewhat encouraged by todays numbers. I never thought I would say that 125 deaths was encouraging, but hospitalizations seem to be plateauing and maybe beginning to head down (fingers crossed)
We are 48 days since our first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut.
74,038 have been tested
23,921 have tested positive
1877 are currently hospitalized, down 70, and the first time under 1900 since hitting that mark 9 days ago.
1764 have died, 125 today
Tomorrow, (Saturday) one of our nurses, Sheri Dayton, will be on a call with AFT president Randi Weingarten and others.
For the “worker protections” telephone town hall tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. that SEIU has organized and that six other unions are participating in (including us), we’ve got the attached link for folks to register to get on the call. Since Sherry Dayton, one of your nurse members, is going to be one of the speakers, we thought you might want to send out the attached link tonight for your leaders and/or activists to listen in on the call which is at 1:00 p.m. To register for the call, they’ll have to do this by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.
BTW, Today is my birthday. I want to thank everyone who wished me well. I so wish I could have spent the day celebrating with you. But those days will come again. For now, lets continue to stay safe and continued to isolate so that our essential workers can stay as safe as possible.
I have a friend. He’s a lay minister in my church and we grew up together and played basketball together. (He was much better) He likes to say when he’s leaving, ‘Drive safe, you have precious cargo in your car.”
On my birthday, that is my message to you.
Be safe, be well.
John
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