I am stronger than I think mª jesús puyol Nurse Ferraz Care Home
MADRID — SPAIN
Bearing witness to a pandemic BUPA | SANITAS
I knew there would be difficult times in my job, but now I can’t even imagine what I might face tomorrow… That daily worry doesn’t let you relax. We have been through really tough times, because Covid is a bit capricious. You think your patient is well and then four or five days later they suddenly get worse. I couldn’t have imagined having to work this way. You know your job, but not how to deal with a pandemic: How do you care for a Covid patient? How do you tell the family certain things? These are some of the things we have had to learn in recent months. There is also the worry about my own family. I am not from Madrid, I am from Granada. I live here with only my partner. Some days I take selfies in the mirror after I have done everything and send it to my mum so she can see I am all protected in the ppe and she says: I don’t recognise you under all that stuff.
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When the first case of Covid in Madrid was confirmed, we had 68 residents. We look after Alzheimer’s patients and people who are recovering from fractured hips. Some people came to take their family members home before the care home was closed to visitors. So we were down to forty-eight residents, whose families couldn’t visit them. We have tried to communicate as much as possible so the families are not worried, but it’s sometimes not good news and it’s hard to say to a daughter: Your father doesn’t have long left. I remember one of the advanced Alzheimer’s patients at the centre who had some really bad days. I thought she would die, that she wouldn’t make it. But she was really strong and survived. Of course, she lost weight and lost a lot of mobility after what she went through. Now when I see her I say: Look at her, there she is. I don’t think this is over yet, I think this is just a lull. I think we will get more, because people are really tired of masks and don’t see why they have to follow certain rules. Many don’t follow them. We have to stay alert. �
You know your job, but not how to deal with a pandemic: How do you care for a Covid patient? How do you tell the family certain things? These are some of the things we have had to learn in recent months.
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