Jo
Jo
Age: 52
Occupation: Head Nurse
For a brief moment, healthcare workers were called heroes. Many of them never asked for that title. They asked for something much simpler: protection, support, and the ability to do their jobs safely. Jo has just finished another fourteen-hour shift.
People seem to think that I’m wearing this mask to make some sort of statement about the whole ‘Healthcare workers are Superheroes’ thing. I’m not. But this mask is better than wearing no protection at all. We ran out of masks a week ago at the hospital, so I borrowed this one from my son. Nice bonus is that it makes of lot of my patients smile when I enter their room.
I’ve just finished a fourteen hour shift. It’s exhausting. I haven’t seen my family for weeks… I just don’t want to risk infecting them, you know. I’m staying in this rented room near the hospital.
I’m not a hero. I do what I’ve been doing for many years now: I help people. Because that’s what we nurses do. We take care of people. It’s what we are put on this planet for, I think so anyway. We don’t need applause for that. We do need the right equipment. And a bigger pay check would be great too. Let’s hope they remember that when the worst of this is over.