‘To the Nurse Who Was Fired for Wearing Their Own Mask. To the Nurse Who Tested Positive for COVID’: ER Nurse Stands in Solidarity With Everyone Ever Called “Just a Nurse”

To the nurse who searches anxiously for a new mask; they’re locked up now.

To the nurse who is thinking about putting in their resignation.

To the nurse who wonders well what about the ANA Code of Ethics, you know, provisions 5 and 6?

To the nurse who has arrived at a shift with 8 call outs.

To the nurse who catches a glimpse of the freezer truck parked out back that is being used as morgue overflow.

To the nurse who stands alone in their PPE next to their intubated patient, as they silently have an anxiety attack.

To the nurse who just gave themselves a Cardi-B pep-talk so they can get back out there.

To the nurse who has been told to cohort the cancer patient with the suspected COVID patient, because there’s just no more space.

To the nurse who was told they signed up for this.

To the nurse who is active in the union and spends off days writing up Demands and Calls to Action.

To the nurse who just performed the last round of CPR on their 30-year old patient.

To the nurse who stepped outside to catch their breath but instead ended up pulling an unconscious man out of a car.

To the nurse who is on a travel assignment and nowhere close to their loved ones.

To the nurse who just risked their job by sounding the alarm and exposing their hospital.

To the nurse who knows there are no more ventilators left and their patient will die by morning.

To the nurse who just received a lab call notifying them that their COVID patient’s blood work has hemolyzed.

To the nurse who has been made to feel like their life does not matter.

To the nurse who realizes the public did not truly know what nurses, “do,” until now.

To the nurse who is being reassured by leadership shift after shift that PPE stockpiles exist… somewhere.

To the nurse who woke up to a text message that another one of their coworkers has died.

To the nurse who can feel their spirit breaking.

To the nurse who is not being offered mental health support.

To the nurse rushing to don their PPE as their patient de-sats.

To the nurse being told by higher-ups during huddle to abandon all they’ve ever known to be true about appropriate infection control and safety precautions.

To the nurse who muttered under their breath, “yea, but I bet you wouldn’t go in there without an N95.”

To the nurse who just wrapped themselves in a trash bag before entering the room.

To the nurse who was abandoned by the same system they dedicated their life to.

To the nurse who woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and cough.

To the nurse who has tested positive for COVID-19.

To the nurse who can no longer breathe on their own.

To the nurse who has been admitted to the ICU.

To the nurse who was just intubated by their own colleague.

To the nurse who did chest compressions on this nurse with tears streaming down their face.

To the nurse who backs away for the last time, as time of death is called.

To the nurse who has been referred to as, ‘just a nurse.’

To the nurse who wonders if this is how they treat, “heroes.”

Every day, we write our names and the date on our face masks and eye shields. Every day, we show up stronger, more capable, and braver than the day before. Not just for our patients, but for one another.

My name is Aída. I am an ER nurse.
To the nurses all around the world, I feel you.
I share your pain. I have your back.
I WILL show up for YOU.
You are me. I am you. We are each other.
Let’s show them our truth.

This is, the Year of the Nurse.
Never again will you be, ‘just a nurse.'”

**This Facebook post was written by Aida Kranzburg and originally appeared on her Facebook page.