“I head into the shower and visciously scrub my skin until my eczema flares up to match the raw, peeling skin behind my ears from wearing masks all day. I sleep alone, without my special someone. I park my car in crevices to power nap on a makeshift foam mattress in the back of my trunk after a 12-hour shift to head right into another 8-hour shift. I will continue to fight, no matter the obstacles.”
‘They tell me, ‘Go back to your country.’ Many of my patients ask to switch nurses. I’m not Chinese, and I was born and raised in America.’: Nurse vows to continue to fight ‘despite obstacles’
‘He can never leave the house.’ We have not seen our family or friends in over a year.’: Mom of severely immunocompromised son says ‘I am tired of headlines saying only the vulnerable will die’
“His doctors were hopeful we could take him out of the house for the first time EVER this summer. We could introduce him to his family members and friends. We could let him play on a playground, like a normal toddler. However, now our future is unknown again as the pandemic has erupted.”
‘But, I wasted food,’ she sobbed as she knelt down to pick up the mess. I know those tears were more than just spilled Cheerios.’: Mom says to give children grace during quarantine, ‘They’re carrying a heavier load than they can balance’
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had a major spill in the house. But it’s the first time it hit so hard. Those tears were missed classmates and grandparents. An abrupt pause to her school year. Overhearing news stories not meant for innocent ears. Our children should not have to worry about rationing food. Our children should never even know they need to worry about food.”
‘Our nature walk resulted in my son picking up dog poop thinking it was a rock. Now they’re bowling with empty beer cans in the basement.’: Mom pens hilarious appreciation letter for teachers during quarantine
“How do you do it? I mean, truly? Our ‘classroom’ for the last 2 weeks has been one big dumpster fire after another. I bow down to you. Add the fancy laptop bag to your fall school supply list. Add that pretty dress you saw as an ad on your Instagram feed. I’m all for you dressing like a QUEEN next school year.”
‘I feel hideous and weak. I want it to end.’ Chemo was killing me.’: Stage 3 breast cancer survivor encourages others during pandemic, ‘You can find beauty, laughter, and joy’
“I don’t know how else to say it. I never once imagined my biggest life lessons would come while being bald and sick as my breast was slowly consumed by cancer. There will be life before and after the pandemic, and I believe the after will be sweeter.”
‘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’
“‘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.”
‘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.”
‘I called my mom hysterically crying, ‘I don’t want to cross the border alone. It’s too dangerous!’ Everyone was silent.’: Young woman takes risk leaving US during pandemic, ‘I’ve never wanted to be home so badly’
“The news was showing tons of people who were stuck in different countries because of the border closing. ‘Will I be stuck in Mexico? I’m a United States citizen, they can’t tell me no, right?’ I was so nervous! I didn’t want it to be me.”
‘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.”
