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  2020-07-10

  DNR - A Death Sentence

  My sisters are nurses on the COVID unit at St. Josephs Hospital and they are starting to see a lot more of these signs popping up. So many in fact that they are having to make their own because so many patients have received 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders. For those who don't know, this is an order caretakers follow when a patient is excluded from basic recovery care when their heart stops or they stop breathing. On the COVID unit, patients and families are facing their own mortality through this decision. This order has become more common during this pandemic because of how easily it is transmitted. Sometimes the order is requested by the patient but recently the decision has fallen on the doctors in charge. Visitors aren't allowed and ventilated patients can't provide input. The news is often broken to the families through a phone call or, if your lucky, a Zoom call. These orders are put in place when someone is nearing the end of their fight with COVID, to prevent the transmission of the virus to the nursing staff. This is a screenshot from my sisters Instagram showing an example of a hand made sign on her unit.
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  2020-07-25

  Overcrowded Hospitals

  As a nurse at St. Josephs Hospital, my sister is at the heart of this pandemic. She is watching as her workplace is overrun with patients infected with the virus. Taking every precaution possible, she is doing everything she can to help her patients and the other nurses on her unit. Since the influx of positive cases is overwhelming the hospital, nurses from other units are transferred and trained on the COVID unit. Neonatal unit nurses, Neuro-ICU nurses, and anyone else that can help is fighting on the front lines of this pandemic. This is a screenshot from her Instagram, pleading with anyone who will see it, the consequences of not taking this virus seriously.