It's the perfect storm: the holidays are here. We all want to see family. We are tired. We are burned out. We are struggling with our mental health after such a hard year.
At the same time, cases in L.A. County are at an all-time high. Deaths are on the rise. Capacity in Southern California intensive care units has dropped to zero. And healthcare professionals are getting hit. Hard.
Lindsay Burrell, a nurse in the ICU at Providence Little Company Mary Medical Center in Torrance, made a heart-wrenching plea to Angelenos on our newsroom's local news and culture show, Take Two.
"Please help us," she said. "We're begging at this point."
She explains:
"I am asked all the time, what can we do to help you? How can we help you in the community? In the beginning, people were sending us food and cards and and just all the support that we could possibly need. And we're so thankful for that.
But here's what I'm asking from everybody: What you can do now, as a member of the public, is stay home.
I know you're tired. Trust me, I know.
To the restaurant owners: I know that you were devastated by the fact that you are trying to figure out how you are going to make ends meet when you don't have any income...Trust me. I feel for you. We all do.
But if we don't start complying, our hospitals are not going to be able to meet the demand...we simply cannot.
What you can do for us is stay home.
What you can do for us is avoid family gatherings. Friend gatherings.
You know, when I see in the public, people crammed into restaurants, in a sense of defiance of, Oh, well, it's too bad. I'm tired of this COVID, I'm tired of being isolated home, etc., you know, the mental health is getting to me.
You know, I get it. I am a human being, too. Trust me. Don't you think I'm exhausted and tired of being stuck inside of a house, you know, having to play mom and then go to work? I'm exhausted, too.
But we as healthcare providers, we're feeling this. We're putting on PPE day in and day out, you know, we're hot, we're tired. We're not drinking water. We're not really even eating normally, throughout a normal day. We're exhausted.
Please, just do your part. Please. This is what is recommended and we just, for a temporary moment in time, need to comply."
The interview with Burrell is a must-listen for anyone out there who's unsure about whether to travel this holiday...or a good thing to send to that one friend we all have who's like, I'm over it and just can't deal anymore.
READ MORE ABOUT ICUS RIGHT NOW:
- 'The Flood Just Continues': Inside L.A. Hospitals' Struggle With the COVID-19 Surge
Not Enough Nurses: Even With Hazard Pay California Hospitals Face Fierce Competition For Fill-Ins
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