Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1342831
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 66 MARCH 2021 In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everyone's lives nearly overnight, and doctors and nurses have borne the brunt of that upheaval. They've endured fear, uncertainty, exhaustion, loneliness, and grief as they cared for patients who were not only profoundly sick but also alone. Now, a year into the pandemic, Northshore magazine is honored to hear from some of our local healthcare heroes. I N D E P T H J O E C A RT I E R , R N TELEMETRY NURSE, ANNA JAQUES HOSPITAL M E G A N STA P L E S , B S N , R N TEAM LEAD IN THE CRITICAL CARE UNIT, BEVERLY HOSPITAL "It's like gearing up for a war, basically. You don't know what you're ghting, and you don't know what you have for weapons to ght it, but you have to ght it." "Seeing people that lose the battle with COVID…they die alone, basically. I've seen many people die alone. It's just sad. It really breaks your heart. There's nothing you can do, nothing they can do. It's emotionally wrenching. I'd tell people to be smart with your masks. The more you prevent the spread of COVID, the easier my job's going to be. Everyone be patient. Work together, we'll get through this. It's just a matter of time." "I don't want my community to go through what I've seen my patients go through and so I want to be kind of a beacon of hope by getting the vaccine myself and showing that it's safe and that I believe in science." "My husband and I actually ended up contracting COVID in May and we had the longer-term side effects. I feel like before COVID I was able to really have a good work-life balance. I could leave work and have my day off and come back to work fresh. But I found that the line between work and being home was blurred because when I was home I felt guilty that I wasn't at work helping, or I felt concern for my coworkers and the fatigue that they were experiencing. The most challenging part for us was the fact that we had to fill the emotional void of a no-visitor policy. Patients were alone, they were scared, they were in our unit for weeks. They longed for human contact." D E R M OT L A H E Y, AC N P B C EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE PRACTITIONER, WINCHESTER HOSPITAL, AND THE FIRST EMPLOYEE AT WINCHESTER HOSPITAL TO RECEIVE THE COVID19 VACCINE "I think one of the big misconceptions that people have is [believing] it's so risky to get this vaccine because it's so new. And I'll say, you know what's definitely risky? Getting COVID. Sure, you might come through the infection fine, and then in a month, you might come in because you've had a stroke, or because of what COVID can do to your blood clotting cascade, or you can have permanent lung damage. I would say those are very real risks, and the risks of being vaccinated pale in comparison to what COVID is. Sometimes people get focused on these tiny little details, and I would say, let's look at the big picture and refocus on what it is that you're afraid of." "People ask me, did you have any side effects? I said yes, I had one major side effect: Hope." PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENNIFER ROSENBERG