NEW ORLEANS — When we first spoke with Jessica Faust, she flew directly to New York City, ready to hit the ground running.
Now, just under three weeks later, she’s working four 12-hour shifts a week, taking care of COVID-19 patients who depend on her for survival.
“The unit I’m working on is a pediatric ICU they converted into an adult ICU, so these nurses never took care of adult patients in their lives,” Faust said.
With limited supplies, it gets stressful for Faust and her Colleagues.
“So everyone we see is basically on a ventilator,” Faust said. “And they don’t have enough real ventilators, like we’re using home ventilators that people had donated.”
The toughest part though, is seeing patients suffer without their loved ones nearby.
“You’re having to take an iPad in the room to show them their family members so they can talk to them,” she said. “They’re crying and singing and praying for them and it’s very difficult.”
Faust has been a critical care nurse for 13 years, but she’s never seen anything like this. However, it’s given her new strength and determination.
“We are giving our all to these patients, and I feel like every nurse in the whole world deserves props because we’re fighting this battle together as one,” she said.
As she continues the fight alongside so many others, it should be a lesson to us all to value life and to the people who work so hard to save it.
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