Storyteller: McKenzie Hurd
Shelly is 54 years old and lives in Bay City, Michigan with her son, dog, and cat. She works at McLaren Bay Region as a radiographer. Her main responsibility is to perform medical imaging, such as an X-ray, to help diagnose the patient’s condition, preparing the patient for their procedure which includes explaining how the procedure works and answering questions. She also has to position the patient to get the best and most accurate images and every so often she will have to give a patient a bath. Shelly heard about COVID-19 on the news last March. Her day-to-day life changed when the state went into shut down last year. She was able to work by herself taking care of patients and was able to get things done around the house because she wasn’t able to go out. She couldn’t spend time with her close friends and family.
Shelly has gained boredom, stress, and weight from COVID-19 but has recently started a diet challenge and tries to walk her dog every day to get exercise and the fresh air without exposing people because she works with COVID patients. She has lost her freedom and hanging out and going on trips with friends because of COVID-19. Shelly has to wear an N 95 face shield, disinfect equipment, and wear a gown and mask when working with COVID-positive patients. She is very high risk because she works with COVID-positive patients so she tries to protect herself the best she can because she doesn’t want to spread it to her son or family. Shelly finds it funny when people think that her work is a COVID-free area because she works with COVID patients all the time. She also finds it funny when people wear their face masks inside out or upside down. The pandemic has taught Shelly to have more patience.
MIPandemicStory 