![](https://images.suitcasemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10140431/beyond-the-headlines-people-of-the-pandemic-los-angeles_653ccd5eaab09.jpeg)
Brittni
ICU Nurse
“We’re running out of supplies. Each nurse gets one mask to use
for their entire shift – and we’ve been warned that we should hang
on to masks, in case we need to use it multiple days in a row. They
tell us that using bandanas is okay, but it makes us really
uncomfortable in light of how much we’ve learned about the
virus.
“I’m really proud of my coworkers. Even the older nurses that
have been assigned COVID patients haven’t refused them. Even people
with babies at home haven’t refused them. I have a friend who lives
with her 85-year-old grandpa and she takes the COVID patients
too.”
“I didn’t think it would really affect me emotionally, but after
my first COVID patient… when I left the room it was hard to hold
back the tears. He was 50 years old and had no existing health
conditions. He deteriorated within two hours, was intubated and
wasn’t doing well. It’s really intense.
“Even if I was asymptomatic and not worrying about myself, I
could bring it home to my fiancé and two roommates. I have a friend
of a friend in New Jersey who just lost both of her 50-year-old
parents to the virus.”