Emily was the first person photographed for this project. Just after our photo shoot, she was cross-trained to work in the Emergency Department in anticipation of an influx of COVID patients.
During the Stay at Home order, elective cases were postponed. The only patients she was seeing were mainly trauma, with the exception of when she would float to various floors to help out when needed. “Everything stayed pretty similar, other than how much additional PPE we were wearing,” said Emily. “We are a little over-the-top in the OR. Since we already know if a patient is COVID-positive before they enter, we put on full gear.” She painted a picture for me: the staff wear knee high boots, full suits with hoods, double gloves, N-95 masks with a disposable mask over top of that, then a face shield over the hood and masks.
Though her job did not change much, Emily’s life outside the hospital was just the opposite. Sadly, Emily’s younger brother Patrick took his own life in the fall.
“He always told me (which I hated) that he found comfort knowing he could always take his own life if he got too low.” Patrick grappled with bi-polar disorder much of his life. Emily being the caregiver that she is, looked out for him the best she could.
Patrick spent a small stint of time in jail last year. He was looking forward to transferring to a work-release program, but he got into a fight and was placed in solitary confinement. While in solitary confinement, there was a chance his work release program would not be an option anymore. He hung himself in his cell one evening.
Emily managed to navigate the services and every challenge that went alongside losing a young sibling who is a father, compounded with a global pandemic, a correctional facility, and many out of town relatives.
“I’ve been good, but I sure miss that booger.” She said she remembers a moment during winter when she stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh, crisp air. She realized that Patrick had not been outside in months prior to his death. Because of the COVID precautions the facility was taking, their main priority was to keep everyone isolated to lessen the risk of spreading COVID throughout the facility.
Emily is pressing forward, continuing to work full time. She is painting quite a bit, enjoying time with her sweetheart son, and she recently bought a fixer-upper ’88 Ram—a salute to Patrick’s birth year.
She remains positive and is looking forward to being on the other side of this pandemic!
