- This is not who I normally am.
But this whole crisis thing has changed me.
I'm a crisis nurse.
Hey Craig, are you gonna keep fighting?
- Yes.
- [Chelsea] I was in New York from the time it started.
Now, I chase the outbreaks throughout America.
I have to be on the road pretty much now.
15 minutes, that was a new record for me.
Time to get in the car and go.
This is a long road.
It doesn't matter if you're liberal or you're conservative.
None of that matters to this virus.
It's impartial.
(dramatic music)
More and more nurses wanna speak out,
because only we're allowed to see what goes on
inside these hospital walls.
(dramatic music)
(alarm rings)
- Second code of the day, this afternoon,
and it's probably not gonna be the only one.
- [Chelsea] Traveling crisis nurse,
pretty much we are called in last minute
and are paid to help hospitals in any area
that needs help and is struggling from COVID-19.
You can see where the next outbreak's happening
by the amount of money that they're paying.
Every day the rates go up in the states
that are being hit the hardest.
We're gonna go wherever we're gonna get paid the most
because our lives are on the line.
We did not become nurses to watch people die.
We became nurses to stop it.
(dramatic music)
- It's going to be a rough night tonight.
We're about to lose another one.
She's 43.
We're intubating one right now.
And then we lost two today.
We'd appreciate your prayers right now.
Thanks guys.
- [Chelsea] We carry the chance of being infected
and dying every day that we go to work.
- I worked through the pandemic in New York.
And then I came to Texas to help.
I just ask people to please wear your mask.
Even with all the precautions I took,
I still got sick.
- I was in New Jersey first,
and then I went to New York City,
then Arizona, then Victoria, Texas,
and now I'm in different part of Texas.
Everything's gonna be okay.
Everything's gonna work out.
It's gonna suck when I get there.
How much do you wanna bet it's going to be a cluster?
But, that's my job is to help untangle those clusters.
So I used to be Republican.
I even voted for Trump.
I don't know what I am politically anymore.
I just wanna keep people alive, that's my only goal.
I work six days a week.
I work from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
The vibe of the city is they don't really believe
this virus is as big as we say it is,
or as important as we say it is.
Things I've seen are a lot of pool parties.
People walking around without masks at all.
No social distancing.
I firmly believe as a Christian
that simply wearing a mask
and keeping your distance from others is loving them.
Okay, time to pray and go to work.
I'm seeing overflows of Coronavirus patients
into other floors.
I'm seeing doors and windows made out of plastic
and plywood in hospitals, which I've never seen before.
I've seen little makeshift COVID infection spaces.
I've seen people get really sick.
I see people die.
So I've seen a lot of families in this town grieving
and confused when I tell them about the virus.
I even had a patient whose last words were,
"I don't have the virus."
And then he died.
Took about two or three minutes before he was gone.
Two or three minutes.
When I talk to other nurses about our mental health,
we all agree that we have PTSD.
- I just can't.
- [Chelsea] A lot of us talk about panic attacks
or nightmares, or reliving moments
that we wish we didn't have to.
- Can't wrap my brain around,
not being there when my family's dying.
It's tough to hear 'em
saying good bye on a video.
None of the news is good
and I'm so burned out on the families are accepting
it's always, "Well he's a fighter.
If anybody's going to beat it he can, my dad can."
It's just rough.
- Still hoping I can make it out there at one point
And see my family that I miss.
That I miss so much.
I spent all day in this room.
Nobody comes here except for, you know, the nurses.
It's been really tough.
- So we just got off our shift.
Talking about a patient that is actively bleeding.
That led into conversation about this disease
and how it causes blood clots.
- When they go into what is called DIC
and they start bleeding out everywhere,
we're kinda worried that's what's gonna happen to his lady.
(monitors beep)
- [Chelsea] I have to put one more tube in.
Squeeze my hand.
Oh my God, oh my God.
Like why is there so much blood.
- [Woman] I don't know.
- [Chelsea] She's DIC!
She's gonna bleed out!
She's a full code!
(dramatic music)
If this happens again, I'm not gonna be a nurse anymore.
I'm not doing this.
I'm not dealing with this.
Whatever that was just in the room with,
I don't want that.
I don't wanna die that way.
My God, it was so bad.
It was so horrifying to watch.
I don't know why she was bleeding so much.
I don't want whatever that was.
- I want everybody to know.
How much I hate COVID
and I hate people that think it's a hoax.
Because you're not here
and you're not taking care of these families.
And you're not holding the hand of the dying.
And you're not watchin' somebody that can't breathe.
And there's absolutely nothing you can do.
So, up yours, if you're one of those, just up yours.
- I am going to get tested tomorrow.
I have a really bad headache.
I really hope I don't have what I just saw today.
- [Man] What's goin' on with you today?
Are you sick?
- [Chelsea] Have a headache and fatigue.
I'm a COVID crisis nurse.
I'm not the same person that I used to be.
I miss who I used to be.
Who I used to be is better than who I am now.
I still appreciate my life, trust me,
that I know we're not promised tomorrow,
but how did we get here?
How did our country as a whole
get to the place we're in now.
(dramatic music)