While the challenges are plenty … those that support us are plenty.
South Louisiana had the double whammy of a continued battle with the delta variant of COVID-19 while we had to get out of the way of and recover from one of the most powerful hurricanes to strike the soil of the United States. The only favor Hurricane Ida did us was to prove that there really is nothing like the kindness of strangers in the South — especially in South Louisiana.
As a charge nurse in the medical ICU unit at University Medical Center, I have seen kindness abound from unlikely places — a gas station for health care workers, generators donated to my fellow health care colleagues, and hotel rooms if we needed a comfortable, air-conditioned place to rest our heads.
But I have also been amazed and overly grateful for the generosity of those closest to us. I can’t thank my employer — LCMC Health — enough for their support of each and every team member. Awed by their generosity, we all move through our days with a little weight lifted from our weary bodies because of what LCMC Health has done to support and help myself and those within its reach.
And while I am thankful for the support, I do not let my guard down for what still remains. We are still to see how the mixture of COVID-19 and hurricanes will impact us, and we cannot let our collective guard down against this hidden virus. We all may be weary, but we all must remain steadfast.
I urge everyone that as you pass along your thankfulness to others that helped, that you do so masked up.
I thank all of those who are generous in spirit and action for myself, my fellow nurses and health care workers and the entire southeast Louisiana community. We will all come out of this stronger and a better community, but let’s all be safe while we do it.
KATHRYN FRIEDMAN ANDERSON
nurse, University Medical Center
New Orleans
