I'd like to take a moment to recognize a hero we have living amongst us.
My mom.
She is a cardiac technician in the cardiac catheterization lab. She spends nearly 100% of her time outside of working over 40 hours per week at the hospital, taking care of my disabled dad. When she goes to work she wears an N95 mask, plus a surgical mask, plus 20 lbs. of lead, and has to double-glove... all day.
I texted her last night and didn't hear back until this morning when she replied, "Sorry I didn't reply... I had a dehydration migraine with vomiting. Work is tough... I am actively hydrating, but I sweat a bunch under all that stuff!" And I'm sure she was still taking care of my dad even while she had a migraine. And sure enough, would be back in to work at 7:30 am the next morning.
She has not complained once about having to take extra precautions at work, or work in general for that matter. She does what she has to do for her department, for her patients, and for my dad. They are cautious at home, but I pray that my mom doesn't get sick because chances are high that my dad would get sick and have to be hospitalized. Her most recent message to me reads, “I did better today,” and, “Had Gatorade with lunch too! I will get adjusted to our new way of ‘life.’”
The cardiac cath lab is an urgent/emergent area, and patients can be brought up there without being screened or tested for COVID-19 at all because their life depends on it... There's no time to wait. And here is my mom going in to work every single day with no complaints, working long hours, saving lives.
More people should be like my mom. She is one of the most hard-working people that I know. She is strong, brave, smart, ethical, and caring. A hero.
Love you, Mom.
