A Local Nurse’s Experience with Covid 19
by Joan Tucker
As Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit flooded with very sick patients several months ago, nurses like Greg Wisman of Stockbridge rushed to meet the demands of these patients. Wisman has approximately five years of experience on a cardiology/telemetry unit caring for some of the sickest patients with heart-related illnesses. With his experience, he was pulled to many different units where they needed help caring for these patients.
In the beginning, the CDC struggled to understand the severity of this pandemic, leaving some of the staff unprotected and exposed to this novel virus. Of course, as soon as coronavirus was identified as the cause, practices changed rapidly to test and isolate patients and get the staff into protective gear. Unfortunately, many staff came down with the virus, leaving fewer of them to care for sick people who continued to flock to the hospital to be treated.
Wisman was one of the unfortunate nurses to get COVID-19. Within two days of being exposed, Wisman began to feel tired and experience body aches. He felt a little better that evening, but the next day he was down with aches and pains everywhere. It was like nothing he had ever felt. Then the feeling of being so cold set in. He realized he had a temperature, which ranged between 99 and 103 degrees F. Wisman immediately decided to self-quarantine.
No smell, no taste, and no appetite caused him to lose 25 pounds in those two-and-a-half weeks. Wisman knew he had to push himself to drink water hourly and get up and walk around the house in spite of being terribly weak. As he began to recover, he went with his wife, Erin, to walk the dogs, but lagged three feet behind her after just a minute. It was then he realized just how short of breath and weak he was and the major effect this virus had on his lungs.
What helped Wisman through his quarantine and recovery were the kind and caring acts of others. Hospital administrators, public health staff, and fellow nurses called him daily. They checked on his condition and made sure he had enough food, drink, and medicine. Henry Ford Hospital compensated all its staff with two weeks’ pay. Thanks to his friends and family, necessities were dropped off at the door without request. But Wisman was most thankful that Erin did not get sick, a true blessing!
Back to work! That first 12-hour shift was long, but Wisman was glad to be back after being so sick. He had a new understanding of this virus and what patients needed. Working through this pandemic is and has been stressful. The ever-changing CDC guidelines, exhausted staff, the putting on and taking off of PPE correctly, along with the rapid changes in patient conditions were just a few realities that caused this stress. But good things happened as well. Countless meals were donated from the community, even from the NFL. The support was just amazing. What a feeling of gratitude the nurses and medical staff must have felt with the outpouring of support.
While the COVID 19 patient population is trending down, the cardiac/telemetry unit is starting to see patients who have been afraid to come in. The downside is, they are sicker and may take longer to get an effective medical plan. This is just one of the hardships the Detroit community has felt and is facing.
Fear of becoming ill with this virus will continue, even as the spread decreases. The major worry is that there will be a second large wave of sick patients in the fall. This pandemic is not over, as many have warned. So do your part to social distance, increase hand washing, and wear a mask to protect yourself and others. We want to stop the spread of this virulent virus and make Wisman’s job less stressful, not to mention the jobs of many other dedicated members of the medical community.
