Storyteller: Madeline Spillane
Debra is 44 and lives in Hemlock. She works as a labor and delivery nurse at Covenant. She is also a mother to two girls. Debra first found out about Covid from a hospital memo back in February. Debra’s day-to-day life drastically changed once the virus struck. At home things went from going out to see friends, having company over, going to see family, and doing the activities any normal family does, to staying home and spending most of her time finding new outdoor activities to do with her family. At work protocols change daily and stress has increased by a lot. Debra has gained many things from Covid, including, anxiety and more compassion towards others feelings/ beliefs. Since there is so much controversy in today’s society she has gained a new understanding for how people’s views work. During the quarantine, Debra has lost a lot of precious time with her extended family, all the people she loves and cares about. The only ways they are able to communicate now are through technology. Which is great, but not the same. With working in the healthcare scene there have been so many new sensory details that Debra has noticed. “I’ve been more congecent of wearing my glasses at work instead of my contacts for a barrier between myself and patients’ germs. It’s just so hard to stay protected when working with so many people who have either been exposed to or have Covid.” During the course of the pandemic, Debra and her family have faced a calamity of events. Her husband had a heart attack whilst in the middle of their bathroom renovation project, her oldest daughter got into an almost very fatal car accident, and her youngest daughter fell into a sinkhole in their backyard that they did not know of. These are all things that they can now laugh about, but were very serious at the time.
MIPandemicStory 