This Facebook post shared thousands of times shows a caregiver bravely confronting protesters who want Arizona reopened to underline the fact that they do not realise what tragedy this could cause.
The young woman identified as Lauren Leander also posted an image from the event on her own Facebook page saying: “This was for my healthcare workers. I see you. This was for my patients. I am here as you. This was for the entire country. Help us help you.”
She said it was taken in Phoenix Arizona on Monday where protesters were demanding a lifting of restrictions on movement as the government official said the number of coronavirus positive tests were increasing.
The latest Johns Hopkins University statistics showing that Arizona has almost 700 people hospitalised suffering from COVID 19.
Businesses in Arizona regarded as non-essential have been closed since March the 31st under an executive order that was issued by the state governor Doug Ducey who said it will run until at least April 30th.
The nurse was praised by her pal Zahid Saeed, a Critical Care Fellow at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
He wrote: “This is Lauren. She is a good friend and an ECMO/ICU nurse at my hospital. She is one of our best. An incredibly kind human and a badass nurse.
“Today she stood up for healthcare workers as protestors descended upon the State Capitol.
“She stood in silence as people called her a ‘fake nurse’ & ‘paid actor’ amongst other horrendous things.
“Ironically, she has spent many days in the Covid ICU caring for our sickest patients.
“She stood for those who are on life support and have no voice of their own. She stood for the 42,604 Americans who have died so far. She stood for her colleagues; nurses, therapists, techs, janitorial staff, doctors and security amongst others.
“She stood up for those very protestors who hurled obscenities at her. When they inevitably contract Covid-19 and transmit it to their loved ones, Lauren will be one of the first faces they will see when they are admitted to the ICU.
“She may also be one of the last faces that they ever see. When in their ignorance and hubris, they have caused the demise of their own mother or father, Lauren will be standing in silence next to them yet again, this time in mourning. She made us all incredibly proud today.”
He added that anybody worried about losing their civil liberties or thought it was a hoax to spend a day in the hospitals Covid ICU with their nurses, therapists and physicians.
He said it would give them a taste of what medics were going for, saying: “You will spend the day wearing an n95 mask which will pretty much cut off circulation to your face.
“Don’t worry, you will get used to the sensation after a while. You’ll also get used to the dull constant headache that becomes a fixture after you have spent the day rebreathing CO2.
“You will learn how to don and doff PPE each time you interact with one of your patients. You will learn to live with the constant uncertainty of wondering if you have already caught the virus.”
He then described the medical procedures there were going through daily in order to save lives and added it had all failed: “You will stand next to us when we tell a husband over the phone that his wife has passed away, surrounded by strangers in space suits. The worst part of it all, he will not be allowed to see the love of his life to say he loves her one last time because of the infection risk it poses to him and other members of the public.
“You will stand in silence as you listen to another human express the deepest level of anguish possible, the tone of his cries seared into your memory.
“Perhaps then you will understand.”
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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