Stories of COVID’s hidden crisis

“Nurses were constantly moving around because they were not happy anymore — and I guess I was one of them”

“Nursing is a profession that’s driven by empathy and compassion. So it’s hard not to cry with a patient, or cry with their families”

“For many days, I don’t really think I ate or slept. And every single time my phone went off, I nearly jumped up and almost fell to the floor”

“When we talk about recovery, being subject to that little bit of hate, that can wear away at you”

“I can’t ask people to do this if I don’t do it myself.”

“Gaps that exist in peacetime will be chasms that exist during emergency time”

“We were not prepared. We didn’t have PPE. All of our face shields were expired. All of our N-95s were expired. We couldn’t even reorder them. We didn’t even have face masks”

“Helping people navigate the health system, that’s what brings me joy. If I can do it in my language, then you know that’s even better”

“If we’re responding to a crisis, we’re late. People need to get to us before there is a crisis”

“For immigrants who are here working without status, it is very challenging to get up every day, go to work, and remain sane”

“I was feeling everywhere but nowhere at the same time”

“I didn’t want to get my patients sick. I didn’t want to bring something home to my family that I knew nothing about”

“We will never have a healthy workforce if we don’t take care of the hearts and souls of health workers”

“It’s quite morally distressing, witnessing this in front of your eyes. You just have to say, ‘Is this really happening?'”

“There’s only so much you can write in a journal. We need some meaningful, trauma-informed help so we don’t pass this on”