Nurse Joanie New Jersey Hero

O R E H . J . N E I N A O J

10” x 10” Oil on cradled wood panel May 27, 2020

My first portrait for the

#portraitsfornhsheroes project that was started by Tom Croft to honor frontline NHS health workers by having artists around the world paint free portraits for them, thereby memorializing their sacrifice for us all. Joanie is a critical care nurse practitioner and works the nite shift in the ICU at Centra State Medical Center in Freehold NJ. She recalls how it began, “We got hard hit right away ` ! I have been doing this for over 30 years and have seen a lot but never in my life would i expect to experience something like this virus and what it does to a human! I have never been so frightened to go to work in my entire life! I felt like I was fighting an invisible war! I have seen more death in the short span of the past 12 weeks than I have in a long time, but many triumphs too seeing super sick young people go home after fighting for their lives on a ventilator for 4 weeks! That was beautiful, ” she remembers.