Faces of the Fight: Carolyn Brost Strom, Registered Nurse
February 22 was quite possibly the best work day I have had in a very long time. Why? Because I did not have to deliver bad news today.
I didn’t have to say the “you tested positive for COVID-19” bad news. Instead, today I got to deliver good news, the “you get to receive your COVID-19 vaccine this weekend” good news. Yes, today I got to make calls, to book people in for their COVID-19 vaccines.
The majority of people I called that day were in their mid-90s and late-80s. These are people who are still living independently, and have been isolated for almost a year now, to stay safe and to stay well.
If you do the math, these are people who were born from the 1927 to the mid 1930s.
Imagine the life they have lived, the changes they have seen our world, the hardships they have endured this last century. During the past year, these are the people that have truly been in isolation. Some have no internet, and all they have are the phone connections to those in their families and maybe some outdoor visits.
But because of the life they have lived, their perspective is so much different than many of ours. They have lived through many wars and crises, and through that all, they have a grit that is remarkable.
They were so grateful, so positive and so excited.
They exuded Hope.
Hope.
A message and a feeling that is so very important right now.
Hope, a message that those who sometimes have seen the very worst can muster the courage to bring a bright light to the rest of us.
To the rest of us... well, that was also me today. That day, these people got invited to be some of first in line for a vaccine that could eventually bring us back to a more normal life.
Their voices on the other end of that phone line, I can’t even describe. If I hadn’t been wearing a mask all day you’d have seen me smiling all day. Smiling because I was able to deliver good news to people who have been through so much, smiling because of the stories I was told, and smiling because it brought me hope as well.
The perspective these people have is something we can all learn from and it will be an honour to give them their COVID-19 vaccines.
Carolyn Brost Strom is a Public Health Nurse in Prince Albert