BUT I’VE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FULLY
VACCINATED IN THE U.S. IS HIGHER
THAN THE NUMBER OF KNOWN COVID
CASES SINCE IT STARTED SPREADING
HERE.
MY NEXT GUEST HAS BEEN BATTLING
THE VIRUS ON THE FRONT LINES
SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING AND
HERE IS HOW SHE DESCRIBED HER
PATIENTS WHEN SHE FIRST JOINED
US LAST YEAR.
>> THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY ALONE.
IT’S HEART BREAKING AS A NURSE
TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE THAT
PERSON’S EVERYTHING AND
SOMETIMES IN THEIR LAST MOMENTS.
THE WEIGHT OF TRYING TO FILL THE
SHOES OF THE PEOPLE WHO CAN’T BE
THERE IS REALLY HEAVY.
>> I WANT TO BRING IN A HERO OF
MINE THROUGHOUT THIS LAST YEAR,
MAUREEN WHO IS A NURSE AT
BEAUMONT HOSPITAL IN FAIRMONT
HILLS, MICHIGAN.
MAUREEN, GOOD TO SEE YOU.
GOOD TO SEE YOU ON A POSITIVE
DAY.
BACK THEN YOU AND I WERE TALKING
A LOT ABOUT PEOPLE DYING WITHOUT
THEIR LOVED ONES.
YOU WERE THE LAST PERSON NEAR
THEM AND YOU COULD BARELY BE
NEAR SOME OF YOUR PATIENTS.
RIGHT NOW THERE’S ONLY A HANDFUL
OF PATIENTS IN THE HOSPITAL AND
VISITORS ARE ALLOWED IN AGAIN.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
HOW RELIEVED ARE YOU?
>> HI, STEPHANIE.
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK.
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN A
YEAR.
I WOULD SAY THE HOSPITAL RIGHT
NOW FEELS PROBABLY THE MOST
NORMAL IT HAS FELT IN A VERY
LONG TIME.
IT IS SO EXCITING TO SEE
FAMILIES IN OUR HALLS AND AT
BEDSIDE.
IT’S SUCH A RELIEF TO BE ABLE TO
INCLUDE THEM IN CARE OF THEIR
LOVED ONE AND IN JUST THAT WHOLE
PROCESS FROM -- FROM ER TO WHEN
THEY GET TO GO HOME.
>> BUT THE STRUGGLE IS FAR FROM
OVER.
YOU USED TO WORK IN THE ICU, BUT
NOW YOU’RE IN THE INPATIENT
REHAB WING TO HELP PEOPLE TO GET
STRONG ENOUGH AFTER THEY GO
THROUGH COVID.
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF PEOPLE
OUT THERE WHO SAY, COVID, IT’S
LIKE THE FLU.
IT’S FAR FROM THE FLU.
CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND THE
CHALLENGES YOUR COVID PATIENTS
ARE FACING?
>> SURE.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW,
INPATIENT REHAB IS A REALLY
AMAZING PLACE TO HELP PEOPLE
OVERCOMING ALL KINDS OF
DEBILITY, COVID IS ONE OF THOSE
THAT WE HAVE SEEN NEWLY OVER THE
LAST YEAR AND THOSE PATIENTS
REALLY BY THE TIME THEY GET TO
US AND ARE HEADED HOME ARE
FACING A LOT OF -- JUST A LOT OF
ISSUES THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE
BEFORE.
YOU KNOW, THEY’RE VERY WEAK.
SOMETIMES THERE ARE A LOT OF
LINGERING RESPIRATORY ISSUES,
CARDIAC ISSUES AND INFLAMMATORY
ISSUES THAT TAKE A LONG TIME TO
SUBSIDE.
SO PEOPLE ARE STILL NEEDING A
LOT OF HELP TO GET STRONGER AND
TO REACCLIMATE TO LIFE AND BE
ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL GOING
HOME.
>> IS THAT JUST OLDER PATIENTS
OR YOUNGER PATIENTS, TOO?
SNOO>> I THINK THAT THAT -- IT
VARIES.
I THINK ONE OF THE MOST BAFFLING
THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN WITH
COVID IS THAT IT AFFECTS PEOPLE
SO DIFFERENTLY REGARDLESS OF
AGE.
THERE ARE DEFINITELY RISK
FACTORS AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY
PEOPLE WHO TEND TO DO BETTER AND
PEOPLE WHO TEND TO GET HIT
HARDER, BUT I DON’T THINK THAT
THAT’S AN ALL-INCLUSIVE OR
DEFINITIVE DISEASE PROCESS.
I THINK COVID KEEPS US GUESSING
AND WE HAVE PATIENTS YOUNG AND
OLD WHO CAN HAVE RESIDUAL SIDE
EFFECTS AFTERWARDS.
ABSOLUTELY.
>> I HAVE TO TELL YOU I HAVE TWO
VACCINATED PARENTS, I’M VERY
EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW CDC
GUIDELINES ALLOWING PEOPLE TO
SEE THEIR PARENTS, THEIR
GRANDPARENTS.
HOW ARE YOU PERSONALLY
APPROACHING THESE CHANGES?
I KNOW YOU’VE GOT THREE YOUNG
KIDS AND FAMILY AROUND.
>> I MEAN, IT’S SUPER EXCITING.
YOU KNOW, MY DAD IS VACCINATED,
BOTH MY MOM AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW
GO TO GET VACCINATED TODAY, MY
OTHER IN-LAWS ARE GETTING
VACCINATED -- I KNOW -- THEIR
FIRST DOSE THIS FRIDAY.
IT’S SUPER EXCITING.
I THINK THE RELIEF THAT COMES
WITH THAT IS PALPABLE.
NO MATTER WHO I TALK TO, WHEN
THEIR LOVED ONES, WHEN THEY KNOW
THAT THEY ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THOSE VACCINATIONS, IT’S AN
AMAZING AMOUNT OF RELIEF.
A LITTLE BIT OF FREEDOM.
AND THAT’S EXCITING.
>> THIS HAS BEEN AN ENORMOUS
UNDERTAKING FOR YOU.
WHEN YOU ARE ON THE FRONT LINES
IT MEANS YOUR KIDS ARE, TOO.
WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH IN THE
LAST YEAR, WOULD YOU DO IT
AGAIN?
AND ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE
FUTURE?
>> SO THAT’S A QUESTION I FEEL
LIKE I’VE GOTTEN KIND OF A LOT
RECENTLY AND I ABSOLUTELY
WHOLEHEARTEDLY WOULD SAY THAT I
DON’T REGRET NOT ONE PART OF
THIS PAST YEAR.
I THINK NURSING AS A PROFESSION
IS SO AMAZING AT BASELINE, BUT I
THINK THAT OVER THE COURSE OF
THIS PANDEMIC THEY HAVE REALLY
SHOWN, THEY DELIVERED
EXTRAORDINARY CARE IN THE MOST
CHALLENGING OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND
TO BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH THAT
WITH SOME OF THE MOST
INTELLIGENT AND COMPASSIONATE
HUMAN BEINGS ON THE PLANET, I
WOULD DO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN
IN A HEARTBEAT.
AND TO BE ABLE TO MINISTER TO
PEOPLE AND BE AT THEIR BED SIDES
WHEN THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY,
AGAIN, I THINK I CAN STAND WITH