“‘Is it really that bad out there?’ t’s not a population we think of to feel ‘sorry’ for. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have worried about our incarcerated population during this time. In fact, I would’ve assumed it was for the best. Everything changed when I took the time to reach out and get to know someone different than me.”
‘I went from trying to plan a visit to our son’s birth mom in prison, to reassuring her, ‘Everything will be okay.’ She is still a mom. And she’s hurting.’: Foster mom reminds us not to forget about those in prison, ‘A hard life just got harder’
‘We’ve all been exposed. Not necessarily to the virus, but BY the virus.’: Woman explains why Covid-19 is ‘tearing down our walls’
“Corona is exposing us. Exposing our weak sides, our dark sides. It’s peeling back our layers and tearing down our walls. It’s calling into question, ‘What is the church without a building? What is my worth without an income? How do we love despite risk?'”
‘Today my husband had to sit in the hallway, and listen through speaker phone, to hear our baby go to heaven with their sister.’: Mom grieves loss of baby alone, urges ‘please, just stay home’
“This was us. We didn’t get to grieve together. We couldn’t even hug and tell each other it would be okay or that we would survive this. A father couldn’t look at his baby one last time, and a mother had to get the worst news about their baby…alone.”
‘You’re going to be staying with your dad longer than normal.’ I haven’t seen my kids in a week. I tilt my camera to the ceiling so they can’t see me cry as we say goodbye.’: Pediatric nurse practitioner urges ‘we all need to make sacrifices’
“My youngest immediately started crying and said, ‘I don’t want you to die.’ Every day I am in the hospital. My kids can only FaceTime me. I tilt my camera to the ceiling so they can’t see me cry as we say goodbye.”
‘We have to cancel the wedding.’ In the midst of all the chaos, we thought, ‘What better place to start a marriage than inside our home?!’: Couple elope in living room after pandemic ruins wedding plans, ‘We wouldn’t have it any other way’
“Our RSVP count was 250 people. We looked forward to having everyone we love in one room. Due to the pandemic, we had to make the difficult decision to cancel. We were heartbroken. ‘Wait. We can postpone the wedding, but why postpone our marriage?’ This wasn’t what we planned, but now we wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
‘I read a status from a fellow teacher. She’d called all 175 of her classroom students, talking directly with 150 of them. We will not give up.’: Teacher working from home says ‘not even global disease can stop our passion’
“I miss my kids. I miss seeing them light up when learning something new. I miss their laughter, conversation, varying personalities, and energy. This is not what I had in mind when I decided over 10 years ago to be a career teacher. We’ve combined powers of cafeteria staff, custodians, aides, and bus drivers to travel home-to-home delivering hot meals to our people. We will not give up.”
‘My doctor said, ‘Your vitals are remarkable.’ He wouldn’t test me. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.’: 22-year-old woman shares inside look at coronavirus after testing positive, ‘I want to bring awareness’
“I’m 22 years old and I tested positive for Covid-19. I wanted to be tested once the symptoms started like I should have been in the first place, but it was DIFFICULT.”
‘Today I cried with you as you checked in, full of tears, because your family could not join you. I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to be doing this alone.’: Labor and delivery nurse says ‘we will be your biggest cheerleaders in these uncertain times’
“Right now, labor and delivery units are on strict isolation, only allowing one or NO guests (not even the baby’s other parent) to visit during labor, delivery, and postpartum time. We want your cheering section to be standing at the window when we open it to show off your new baby. But what we want more than anything, is a healthy mom and baby. We are hurting almost as much as you.”
‘The world feels scary, my baby—but being with you is exactly what I need. I find deep gratitude in knowing you’re one thing I won’t have to wonder when I’ll see again.’: Mom ‘thankful’ for baby during national crisis
“You got off the slide last week, neither of us knowing it would be the last time you slid down it for a while. Soon you’ll wave goodbye to your teachers and friends, and I can’t tell you when you’ll see them again. I know my patience is thinner, my fuse shorter lately, but my calm comes when bath time is over and the lights go out. In all the uncertainty, my constant is you.”
‘I can’t fight the call of duty I feel, the call to help my fellow nurses. But I’m still scared.’: Traveling nurse says healthcare workers are fighting ‘a war none of us asked for’
“This is a war that none of us asked for. I’ve seen pictures of packed bars in Chicago and beaches in Florida. Our hospitals are at capacity, not enough staff and too many patients. I beg of you, listen and stay inside. I’m scared I will be watching people die and be unable to help.”
