A local ICU nurse used social media to share her experience with COVID-19 patients.
"It’s sad because we all know what we’re battling and these patients are sicker than patients that we’ve seen and they're sicker in a different way," said Erin Woodward, an ICU nurse for Banner Hospitals in Arizona.
Woodward was surprised at the response after posting more than ten minutes of video to her Instagram story, detailing her a day in her life while caring for ICU COVID-19 patients. She took to social media after seeing the outrage from Arizonans against wearing masks.
"What spurred me to action was seeing the anti-mask protests and just seeing the backlash over wearing a mask and I just couldn’t wrap my head around why that was happening," said Woodward.
Woodward has been a nurse for six years, mostly working in emergency room trauma, but was recently given the opportunity to train for the COVID-19 ICU Unit. She said due to family and visitor restrictions, she is often the only person in the room for personal emotional moments, and is the only person to provide emotional comfort and care for these patients.
"Nobody is allowed to come in and make sure your family member feels safe and comfortable. That’s our job," said Woodward. "It’s sad because we all know what we’re battling and these patients are sicker than patients that we’ve seen and they're sicker in a different way."
