The exhaustion medical workers feel working during this pandemic can wear them down. But knowing they are able to help alleviate the pain and discomfort of their patients fortifies them. For Shannon Nicole Primavera, a nurse in her early 20s at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London, the European city that’s home to many Filipino health workers, it’s this thought that helps her get through the day.

Before she moved to London, Primavera was a quiet neighbor and distant relative I got to see only during yearly trips to Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Now, she works in the intensive care unit (ICU) of St. Bartholomew’s, where she describes the situation as being “really challenging and stressful.”

Primavera: “People now see the real value of what health-care workers do.”

“Our unit is now full of COVID-19 (new coronavirus disease) positive patients, and staffing has been stretched out. To look after them, we have to wear the full personal protective equipment (PPE) for 12 to 13 hours straight, making toilet breaks or getting a drink of water more difficult,” Primavera said in an email interview.

“More and more patients are coming in and we had to expand our ICU,” she said. Last week, they began converting medical wards into ICUs to put in more beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients who need to be ventilated.

Primavera and her coworkers wear full PPE gear at work, although sometimes they experience shortages every now and then. “I make sure I clean my hands countless times and take a shower with disinfectant soap before going home from work, and another one once I get home. I also try to hydrate myself with lots of water and drink my vitamins daily.”

Breakdown

Despite all the precautions medical practitioners take, the frantic pace can take its toll. “It has been really difficult and at some point, I had a breakdown. It was exhaustion, frustration and fear all at once,” she said.

She credits the people at work who uplift and support each other for giving her strength and endurance. “For the most part, it is the feeling that I am able to help people at this difficult time, and that I am making a difference, that keeps me going. It also helps that people now see the real value of what health-care workers do, and the appreciation is very encouraging.”

Shannon Primavera (second from left) with nurse colleagues in London hospital

During breaks between shifts, Primavera makes it a point to reconnect with colleagues. “We eat, talk and laugh together to make things light. As cheesy as it sounds, when it gets tough, sometimes a deep breath can already do so much.

“I can only decompress at the end of the day, after my shift is over, but the experience of seeing the situation firsthand makes me realize that I can’t afford to dwell so much on what happened today. So I go home, get enough rest, set the fear aside and then prepare myself again because tomorrow is another day on the battlefield.”