They don masks day after day to fight a killer. Meet a few of our health care heroes.

It’s in gestures as simple as a restaurant offering a free sandwich, or as grand as “Sweet Caroline” being blasted over the P.A. system at an NFL stadium.

It could come from the hands of children writing in pastel-colored chalk on the sidewalks outside of hospitals, or from the mouths of A-list celebrities during the opening minutes of “Saturday Night Live.”

But no matter how big or small, no matter who delivers it, the message is always the same: Thank you, health care heroes.

They’re heroes because, every day, they’re putting themselves on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

And the risk is significant. According to an April report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 percent to 20 percent of coronavirus cases in the U.S. have been health care workers. To make things more complicated, the virus can be stealthy, in that seemingly healthy people — those with very mild symptoms, or none at all — can spread the disease as easily as clearly sick ones.

“It’s basically like you’re walking into a dark cave not knowing what lies ahead,” said Jason Cooke, who supervises COVID-19 units as director of nursing critical care and neurosciences for Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center.

Going above and beyond

Yet despite the dangers, these health care workers are not just doing what’s required; they’re exceeding expectations.

We’ve heard countless anecdotes about nurses and doctors using their personal phones to let ailing patients communicate with loved ones, since families aren’t allowed to make visits because of contagion risks. In one example, we recently told the story of a husband and wife who contracted the coronavirus at the same time, leading hospital staff to go out of their way to get them assigned to rooms right next to each other, and nurses using their own cellphones to deliver messages and photos between the two in the days before they both died.

There are larger-scale examples of heroism, too. Perhaps the largest? In March, more than 50,000 health care workers — including retirees and students — answered a call from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to volunteer for his state’s surge health care force in response to the outbreak.

Doctors and nurses are far from the only heroes. The list includes everyone from pharmacists to administrators, lab technicians to security guards.

Oh, and don’t forget about the custodians.

“These guys are absolutely my heroes,” said Don Richards, Atrium Health’s director of operations. “(They’re) cleaning things that a lot of people don’t like to clean. … They’re putting themselves in harm’s way. They’re nervous and anxious, just like every other health care worker working in a patient area is.

“And still, they come in here every day … so that the patients can heal and the direct caregivers can operate.”

Thank you, heroes

Today, we’re sharing the stories of several health care heroes in the Charlotte area who are helping to make a dent in the fight against COVID-19 — and helping to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families.

This is our way of saying thank you.

This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 6:00 AM.

Théoden Janes

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5897

Théoden Janes has spent nearly 20 years covering entertainment and pop culture for the Observer. He also thrives on telling emotive long-form stories about extraordinary Charlotteans and — as a veteran of three dozen marathons and two Ironman triathlons — occasionally writes about endurance and other sports. Support my work with a digital subscription