A Day in the Life of a Nurse During the Pandemic

Healthcare workers at Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center don their protective gear during the pandemic. Photo: Fatima Pena

By VICTOR DELGADO

On March 20, 2020, Fatima Pena got her first patient with Covid-19 at the Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and at that moment, everything changed for her and her coworkers. All they could do was prepare for the unexpected. 

“I felt very worried and very tired because I didn’t know the strength of the virus and how it could affect people,” said Pena, a registered nurse. “There were a lot of helpless patients in critical condition with a lot of symptoms.”

Throughout the pandemic, Pena has had “well over” 100 Covid patients. Her life kept changing as the workload kept building up. “It started affecting me when the pandemic peaked, and I started working more and more hours,” she said.

Surprisingly, she was never infected with Covid-19, as she made sure to follow all safety protocols. The healthcare workers diligently used personal protective equipment (PPE), only went out for work and grocery shopping, washed their hands “more than frequently,” and opened windows for ventilation. 

But at first there was not enough equipment for healthcare workers, and some of the gear and masks had to be constantly reused. 

Pena said, “I didn’t have an N95 mask, so we had to use normal medical masks. Then a friend gave me an N95, but I was forced to use the same mask for over three months with medical masks underneath. I kept my gown and face masks in a separate bag.”

Healthcare workers had to make a lot of sacrifices during the pandemic. Pena has three children, and she was terrified of bringing the virus home to them and the rest of her family. 

“The level of work was at the maximum,” she said. “We had to sacrifice family time. We had to watch patients and coworkers die, all with low levels of sleep, without eating, using at all times an excessive amount of protective gear.”

The daily routine was harsh. “Wake up at 5 a.m. to start work at 6 a.m., leave work at 10 p.m., get home at 11,” she said. “Take a shower, sleep a bit, and go back to work. During weekends, since there was no outside or social life, I just stayed home and tried to relax.”

One of the greatest challenges in her nursing career has been “watching people die and trying not to allow that to affect me,” she said, and continuing to work double-shifts frequently, “knowing I could bring the virus to my family and I could die.”

For Pena, one of the scariest and saddest moments was when one of her close co-workers died and her mother, who stayed quarantined, also died, leaving her ten-year-old daughter an orphan. 

Despite all the challenges, Pena has stayed motivated. “Working at a nursing home, about 60 percent of my patients are eldery with chronic conditions,” she said. “So as a nurse, I have to use my experience and knowledge to help my patients get better and give quality to their lives.” There’s also “the 40 percent who come for rehabilitation. It is great to help them back to their normal daily lives.”

Things are looking up now as infection rates are lowering and most healthcare workers, including Pena, have been vaccinated. 

“The vaccines are a good thing,” she said. “I have always believed in vaccines, and even though this one was produced in such a short period of time, I think it is good.”

But Pena warns that the pandemic is not completely over yet. “Keep taking care of yourselves,” she said, “because Covid-19 is a virus that affects people in different ways. Sometimes you have normal symptoms, and other times you have lethal symptoms. Wash your hands and stay out of crowded and closed spaces. Not even healthcare workers know the full extent of the virus, how to stop it, or how it will affect every person. But we try.”

There are three different Covid-19 vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is currently approved for anyone over the age of 12. You can find out where to get vaccinated and schedule an appointment at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov.