15th April 2020

I had a good day yesterday – spent the whole time on the ward without nipping off for any training which gave me a chance to experience more of the routine. My colleagues are really lovely and caring, they’ve made me feel so welcome already I’m actually looking forward to going back in! Although it’s obviously such a testing time, it’s a relief to know I’ve got some amazingly supportive people around me.

Yesterday was also however the first time in a while I’ve cried.

I’m slightly better at understanding myself since CBT and counselling – I look at my emotions a bit more analytically. There is rarely just one thing which sparks an emotion, it’s the straw that broke the camels back vibe, after a couple of jabs one last dig tips the balance. Despite only nursing during the COVID-19 crisis for a week, there have been some heartbreaking moments and the prospect of the situation worsening definitely worries me.

Depressingly I left A&E due to feeling like I couldn’t nurse the way I trained to and really care for people – I feel like that unicorn might be about to bolt again.

One of the benefits of being a Key worker is being able to interact with people outside of your home – but the price is that I’m having to move out of mine. With the PPE situation unlikely to improve, I’m at risk of bringing the virus home to my family. I had hoped I would start and my fears would be alleviated, but unfortunately it’s just confirmed I don’t think current PHE guidance is adequate. After Hancock implying Healthcare workers are overusing PPE, along with the fact he admitted a global shortage, I’m not filled with a great amount of confidence.

So my amazing neighbours came to the rescue!

A bit of impressive team detective work meant we could track down some amazingly lovely owners of some student houses on our street. After messaging Charlie with my plight he and his daughter Cat not only offered me a house to stay in which is a stones throw from my boys -they also won’t accept any money for rent or bills.

Incredible.

When I spoke to the amazing Cat who is my new landlady she warned me the students had left in a hurry and the house was in a bit of a state. Despite my pleas to leave the grime for me to tackle, Cat insisted it was too gross for her to comfortably let me crack on.

Impressive work by the students to create so much hazardous waste that it’s too extreme for a Nurse on a Covid ward to deal with. Bravo lads. (That’s not me being sexist – Cat told me they were blokes)

Anyways Cat has assured me that she has lovingly restored it into a habitable space for me to hide away in.

I cannot tell you the gratitude and relief to have found somewhere so close to home.

The kindness of strangers has become a running theme and it really has helped to make this experience so much easier. When I spoke to Cat on the phone and mentioned rent – her response was relayed almost as if it would be immoral to accept any money off me.

That sense of duty isn’t reserved for us Key Workers, what is so clear is that we truly are in this together, the support from our communities is as essential as ventilators.

It takes a village to fight a virus.