A Romanian Nurse describes her country’s race to prepare for COVID-19 as it ravaged nearby Italy, and how the danger makes her more aware of the value of each day.

I am a Registered Nurse working in Romania on the Intensive Care Unit. COVID-19 came here a little late, so we had time to prepare ourselves physically and mentally.

Every day we practiced putting medical equipment on and taking it off. At the beginning we laughed a lot and felt silly, but we kept practicing. 

Every day, our mentor said: "The virus is two hours’ flight from here.” He was referring to the virus in Italy, just two hours away from Romania by air. 

"Make teams of two and practice,” he’d instruct us. “Put on the equipment and verify that you are both okay. Be careful when you take off the equipment, because there is the actual problem. If you take off the equipment incorrectly, you have the chance to contract the virus from the surface of your gloves or masks.” 

We used to come in from home on our days off, to practice and improve our techniques. I started to feel how the "hurricane" was coming toward us. 

Everyday we tried to find multiple ways to breathe easier with those masks. Just easier - not normally. What many people don’t realize is that N-95 masks filter air so thoroughly, it can be difficult to get enough air to breathe when you wear them while working. We tried every kind of mask:  FFP2, N95, with filter, without filter, and so on.

Finally, Day 1 came. Our first COVID-19 patient was here, and we were only allowed to work 6-hour shifts. Then my colleague came in and changed shifts with me, helping me to take off my protective equipment properly.

Now we are used to this. We just ordered our own Drager masks with our own money, and we are just waiting. Waiting for normality to come back.

Even if we were prepared, we’ve still had one thousand deaths. 

Meanwhile we live, we laugh, we work with COVID patients, we get tested, and we stay far away from our families. 

One true fact is that we value each day more and more. Each day of sunshine, we live our lives. 

In the end, we will be victorious.

Alexandra Chirita, Registered Nurse, Bacau, Romania