I just had a difficult moment with a patient diagnosed with COVID. Our patients are scared.

they don’t realize that their fear negatively impacts their survival. When you have trouble breathing, it activates your deepest fears of death. This fear makes your breathing even worse.

As a nurse in the COVID unit, I have to comfort patients while telling them that their condition is worsening. I have to keep them calm as I explain they may require a higher level of care. I have to keep them breathing on their own while I set up virtual meetings for their family to say goodbye.

-Colin gillis