The sound of him saying “I’m so scared,” plays in my memory over and over again.

A nurse speaks of the new meaning of work-life balance for healthcare workers under COVID-19, and the extraordinary pressures it creates.

I’ve always put an emphasis on being mindful of my work-life balance. Honestly, it was so much easier to leave work at work before all of this. Since the pandemic, I’m surrounded by the reminder that life is not normal, even when I’m at home.

The barriers that COVID has presented us with are traumatizing. It’s harder than ever to cope with what I’m seeing. I can’t forget about the look of pure fear I saw in a patient’s eyes while he struggled to breathe. 

I’ve seen this look before, but it hits differently knowing that he’s a kid who actually understands the severity of the virus he has. It hits differently because he’s alone. I can’t forget the way he asked where his parents were in the midst of his hypoxia induced confusion. 

The sound of him saying “I’m so scared,” plays in my memory over and over again.

The world we’re living in is unreal and for the first time, it feels like there’s nothing I can do. All we have to hold onto is each other. All we can do is hope and pray that what we’re doing is enough and that all of this really will be over soon 🙏🏼 #covidfighter

Layla, Pediatric/Cardiac ICU RN