The-Laker-Issue3-Fall-2020

Jennifer Emmons ’11 is shown in PPE as she prepared to administer a COVID-19 test to a symptomatic patient. 6 | the LAKER from the cover The threat of infection was constant. One of Jennifer’s colleagues, a 23-year-old nurse assistant, was among the casualties. It was a crushing blow and a contradiction to what the healthcare workers were hearing from some outside of the hospital walls – the belief that the disease was only a threat to the elderly and immune-compromised. “COVID doesn’t discriminate,” she said. Beacons of hope In addition to testing and treating patients, Jennifer was often tasked with calling their next-of-kin with updates. Sometimes a call to confirm a positive test came just hours before another phone call — to say the patient had died. Sometimes Jennifer found “deafening silence” on the other end of the line. Sometimes she heard sobbing. A few times, she bore the brunt of their grief – a mother once yelled at her, “You killed my son” but called back later with an apology and a thank you for doing what she could. Jennifer relied on what she’d learned from FLCC professor Jean D’Abbracci. “She told us, ‘Never make false promises and never say I understand because you absolutely cannotunderstand what they are going through,’” Jennifer said. It was the same for the patients. Jennifer could not tell them things like “you’re going to be OK” because most often that wasn’t the case, especially for those who were put on ventilators. Whenever she could, she held their hands and tried to show compassion, not easy from under a mask. COVID-19 survivors were always cause for celebration. Nursing staff brought balloons and applause when they were released home or back to the long-term care facility. One of them asked staff to play Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” Jennifer said, adding, “I think we cried more when we saw those times.” In addition to the survivors, Jennifer found comfort in her connection with fellow nursing staff who stayed at the same hotel. Many late nights they gathered on the patio to recount their experiences or share in a quiet understanding. Family and friends back home also provided support with texts, calls, Facetime chats and a steady supply of care packages. “Local busi- nesses were sending sanitizer and masks,” she said, adding that one package included 300 face shields. “That was a welcomed box.” Jennifer’s original contract was for six weeks but she decided to double it. COVID-19 numbers declined in her final weeks, resulting in fewer hospitalizations. “I was very thankful to have been there for the full 12 weeks because I was able to see the whole picture and have a sense of pride and feeling that we did make a difference, we did matter,” she said. “If I had left earlier, I don’t think I would have had that feeling.” Jennifer Emmons ’11 and fellow nursing staff celebrated the few recoveries they saw during her early weeks on the job.