We all need somebody to lean on

We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

-Ronald Reagan

Although it can be hard to ask for, everyone can admit that they have needed occasional support or assistance from someone they trust. During the year 2020, I think that this was at an all time high for most people. The whole world changed as we all knew it. I went for an entire year without seeing my family or friends back in IL, and I was at an all time low. Working as a nurse during the start of the COVID pandemic was scary, sad, heartbreaking, frustrating, exhausting, overwhelming, and so much more. To this day, times have gotten better with the vaccine (stay tuned as I want to write a post about this), but “normal” as we knew it will now forever be changed! I think this pandemic will unfortunately lead to a lot of nursing burn out in the future due to LACK of support in the hospital setting. I am lucky enough to feel supportive where I work, but I know other RN’s are not as lucky. I do not think that I could do my day to day nursing life without the support from my co-workers all year long. We have stuck by each others side during the pandemic and our teamwork stayed strong at an all time high!

When I first was sick with COVID I was overwhelmed with love and support from so many people in my life. My boyfriend, Marcus, took over caring for our animals as well as taking care of me 24/7. My family called daily to check in. I had friends reaching out to me daily making sure I was doing OK. All the texts, face time calls, and phone calls never went unnoticed. Numerous people were offering to bring me grocery items. After my 14 day quarantine and realizing I was way more sick than I thought, my work put together a huge gift basket for me of goodies to survive a few more weeks off of work. I realized how loved I am but also how much I care and appreciate those around me. These little actions made my day!

Being sick these past three and a half months definitely has had me struggling with coping. I have to admit I could not have done it without all the support from my boyfriend, family, friends, co-workers, and fur babies. They are all willing to wipe my tears away, offer me a hug, offer me silence as I need to vent, distract me, acknowledge how I feel, and most importantly listen and learn from my illness.

Therefore, I want to thank you for continuing to read my blog! Reading and following me gives me encouragement and hope that people can take away something from my journey with POTS.