Stories From Our COVID Units: Battling The Delta Surge

Host, Jonathan Fialkow, M.D. introduces personal stories from healthcare workers on the front lines of the current surge of COVID-19 cases. Sharing their experiences in their own words, these men and women paint a vivid picture of the human cost of the current crisis.

Their universal plea is for the public's help in controlling the spread of the virus by getting vaccinated and taking the proper safety measures. 

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine here.

Transcript

Announcer:
At Baptist Health South Florida, it's our mission to care for you when you're injured or sick and help you stay healthy and fit. Welcome to the Baptist HealthTalk podcast, where our respected experts bring you timely practical health and wellness information to improve your family's quality of life.

Dr. Fialkow:

Welcome Baptist HealthTalk podcast listeners. I’m your host, Dr. Jonathan Fialkow.  I am a preventative cardiologist and lipidologist at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, where I am also Chief of Cardiology at Baptist Hospital and the Chief Population Health Officer at Baptist Health.

This episode is a departure from our usual format. As you’ve heard, the current surge in COVID-19 cases has once again filled hospitals and put a huge strain on the healthcare system. But today we’re not talking numbers and statistics, we’re talking people. 

It’s important to remember that doctors, nurses and other providers are, first and foremost, human beings. Right now, they are facing challenges that most of us can’t even imagine.  So, we’ve asked several of them to share what they’re going through, in their own words. 

These are powerful, heartfelt stories from Baptist Health heroes on the front lines of the pandemic. This is a real as it gets, folks. Please take a few minutes to hear what they have to say.

We’ll start with ICU nurse Katie Moggio: 

Katie Moggio, R.N.:

We’ve seen the last couple weeks an extreme increase in COVID patients, most of them younger than 60, a lot of ‘em in their 30s. We’re watching these patients who, most of ‘em, 98% of ‘em are unvaccinated, coming in, getting intubated.  We’re watching these people, families, come in and die together.  We’re overwhelmed. We’re understaffed. We’re working 5 to 6 13-hour shifts a week. And we do it because, what else are we gonna do with these patients?  They need us. But we need you to get vaccinated. We need you guys to wear your mask. This isn’t a joke. 

Dr. Fialkow:

Marisol Piedra, a nurse on a COVID unit, talks about the enormity of the current surge.

Marisol Piedra, R.N.:

This is the third wave that I've been working since the pandemic started, and it's the worst wave we've seen. The immensity and surge of patients that we're seeing, the amount of patients, we cannot keep up. There's no room simply. There's no room, and there's not enough staff to take care of the patients. These patients are young, they're unvaccinated, and they're needing a lot of oxygen. My message to the community is please get vaccinated. Do your research. And what I mean by research, do read up on medical articles, published medical articles. Get vaccinated. Vaccinate your family members that are able to. And even if you're vaccinated, wear a mask, wash your hands. It takes all of us to stop this. We are tired.

Dr. Fialkow:

Respiratory Therapist Jorge Norona shares what he has experienced. 

Jorge Norona:

Right now, the people that we're getting in the hospital are young. A lot of them with no underlying issues. Unfortunately, they have not been vaccinated. And they don’t do well.

In my 30 years in respiratory, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like what’s going on. 

We just recently got a young man. He came in with shortness of breath, and we brought him here into the COVID unit and put him on the standard therapy. Unfortunately, it didn't work for him. And he actually asked us to intubate him. Before we did, he spoke to his wife on an iPad and his daughter. And when he finished, just before we intubated him, he asked us to please take care of him that he wanted to go home to his daughter. He was on the ventilator for almost three weeks. And about a couple of days ago, unfortunately he passed away.

Dr. Fialkow:

For ICU nurse Norllys Milanes, seeing so many patients with illnesses that could have been prevented is disheartening.

Norllys Milanes, R.N.:

Okay. So here we are two years in almost and never really got the chance to get over the first time, never got to process all of that, what that entailed. And we thought we were out of the woods. We thought things were getting better. We had hope because of the vaccine. And unfortunately that didn't pan out. 

It feels defeating.  It feels demoralizing because of the fact that it’s preventable.  Whatever effects the vaccine had, they can’t be worse than what we’re seeing.  

Dr. Fialkow:

Despite the adversity they’re facing, emergency department nurses like Patrick Charles and Stephanie Childress say they’re determined to get through this with the support of their colleagues.

Patrick Charles, R.N.:

I'm gonna grab myself a mental break real quick. Another busy night at the ER, bunch of COVID patients. Pretty much the same complaints. Pretty much everybody's under 60 years old, coughing, fever, shortness of breath. It's like I should just be pasting, putting copy and paste for most of the patients. 

Nurses are tired. We’re busy all the time. Waiting room was full of patients, sick patients. It’s getting a little overwhelming for us, most of us. But we’re gonna keep sticking it through.

Stephanie Childress, R.N.:

This strain of COVID has been far more worse than the previous strain. I’m seeing a lot of unvaccinated people who are coming in sick. Now I also see vaccinated people, but they’re not as sick.  Here in the ER, we deal with a lot of sadness and a lot of uncertainty. And we are able to fall back on each other to get through the days because they are tough. Any of these days are tough. 

Dr. Fialkow:

And finally, Cindy Gonzalez, one of our physical therapists, hopes to spare others from needless pain and suffering by sharing her personal story of loss. 

Cindy Gonzalez:

Please wear your masks. This is real.  You really don’t want to see the reality of what we see.  We see code blues.  I have seen more deaths than I care to see.  We see families calling in on FaceTime saying their last goodbye.  And we are there for the patients, but we want to get better.  We want to get this over with. My dad passed away of COVID a year ago in July.  He did not have the opportunity to have the vaccine ‘cause it was not out yet.  You don’t what to have to live what I went through, to see your father code twice, to be on the floor working the COVID unit that day, to have that phone call from the nurse saying, “come quick, your dad is passing/”  To put on your PPE fast enough so that you’re there, which I was fortunate to be there when he passed, to see that line go flat line.

So please, get your vaccines.  Do what you can. ‘Cause we want this to be over.

Dr. Fialkow:

 ‘We want this to be over.’  Cindy sums up how overwhelmed our healthcare workers are feeling right now.  Cindy, we are sorry for your loss. And to all of the Baptist Health personnel who shared their experiences for this podcast: we sincerely thank you for the work you every day to care for our patients.

To our listeners: we hope hearing these stories in their own words has painted a vivid picture of this crisis.  They are asking you to help by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask and taking the necessary safety precautions to control the spread of this dangerous virus.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for those 12 years old and up. They are free of charge and widely available at doctors’ offices, pharmacies and public vaccination events. If you have not yet been vaccinated, please make plans to do so today, and encourage your friends and family members to do the same.

As always, if you’d like to send us your comments and suggestions for future topics, you can email us at Baptist Health Talk at baptisthealth.net.  That’s Baptist Health Talk at baptisthealth.net.

Thank you for listening.  Until next time, stay safe.

Announcer:
Find additional valuable health and wellness information on our resource blog at BaptistHealth.net/news. Be sure to interact with us on our social media channels for live and upcoming events. This podcast is brought to you by Baptist Health South Florida, healthcare that cares.