‘It is tough.’ ICU nurse treats, comforts NC coronavirus patients and their families.
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Healthcare Heroes
The News & Observer is telling the stories of “Healthcare Heroes,” those on the frontlines of treating coronavirus patients. Others are managing the equipment that allows those patients to be treated safely. These workers are putting their own health and the health of their families at risk every day so they can help others. Here are their stories.
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It was early in the morning when Angela Livingston made a quick stop for gas on her way to work at Betsy Johnson Hospital in Dunn.
An older man was sipping coffee at a Han-Dee Hugo’s in Clinton. Spotting Livingston in her nursing scrubs, he gave $20 to the store attendant to pay for the gas.
Livingston recalled him quietly telling her he was appreciative of everything health care professionals were doing during the coronavirus pandemic and how he was trying to help out as best he could.
Her reaction?
“I cried all the way to the hospital,” she said.
It may not have been the first time. For those who fight the fight against the coronavirus each day, who see how violent the virus can be and the pain and distress COVID-19 can bring to patients and their families, the strain is real and can be unrelenting. It can be almost overwhelming. It has been for Livingston, an ICU nurse at Betsy Johnson.
Paying for gas was such a small gesture, perhaps, but with a bigger impact.
“Oh my gosh, it came out of the blue and was so sweet, so touching and really, really humbling,” Livingston said in a recent phone interview with The News & Observer.
“It is tough. It has been tough. As an ICU nurse we see very sick people. But this virus has affected people quickly, differently, with no respect for age.
“I’ve been an RN for 11 years and was a paramedic for three or four years before that. But I’ve never seen anything like this. It might be similar to influenza in the way it can spread but not in the way it affects the body. In that way it’s nothing like influenza.”
Long days at the ICU
Livingston, 37, often spends 14-hour days at the ICU. She tends to patients but also to their families.
Adrian Grubbs’ family was one of those families.
Grubbs tested positive for COVID-19 and died March 25. A former sanitation worker in Raleigh and 17-year employee who became a supervisor in the Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department, Grubbs was the second North Carolina resident to die because of coronavirus complications.
Grubbs first was taken to Betsy Johnson, then to UNC Hospitals. He was 37, with a wife and three young children.
“Oh my goodness, that was so hard,” Livingston said. “He was young, my age. I’ll never forget him or his family. He was a real standup man, a good man. That was so tough. We worked really hard with Adrian. There were a lot of tears. A lot of tears.
“When the families can’t come in, that’s very hard. It was difficult. It was difficult for his family. We did all that we could.”
Born in Adel, Ga., Livingston moved with her family to Huntington, West Va., attending high school and then entering Marshall University (“Go Herd!” she said) with the intent of being an elementary education major. Her life plan was to change.
“I like taking care of people, seeing people get better,” she said.
After her family moved to Clinton a few years ago, she soon joined them, then joined the nursing staff at Betsy Johnson. There have been other tough days before this year, but the coronavirus has brought about another kind of health challenge, and days filled with constant stress.
“We’ve had positive patients who have died with us and Angela has been with them every day she’s worked hours,” said Marleigh Zacek, chief nursing officer at Harnett Health System. “Sometimes, as ICU nurses you never come out of that room or your PPE except for short breaks. You’re setting up FaceTime to make sure the families can see them at bedside. You sit and hold their hands so that if they do die, they don’t die alone.
“As a nurse, you always think of yourself as a patient advocate and a family advocate, so this truly has been very difficult. Often, when you have someone with COVID, the chances they are going to come out of it are almost zero. ... If you could only see what we’re looking at every day. The hard thing, if you’re in healthcare, is to see the devastation of it.”
At the same time, Zacek said, those on the nursing staff must also think about themselves and their own health. They, too, need to be mindful of staying safe, at work and at home.
‘We will be OK’
Livingston said she has nieces and a nephew in Clinton who she’d love to visit and hug. Because of her job, her profession, she stays in self-isolation.
Calling herself “outdoorsy,” Livingston enjoys camping and hiking when she can. She has a map of the Appalachian Trail on her kitchen wall, she said, and hopes to hike the entire trail one day.
For now, she has much work to do. There’s a virus to confront, defeat. There are patients who need her help, her comfort. Hands to hold.
“It has been very challenging but rewarding at the same time,” Livingston said. “We’re optimistic there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, that we’ll all make it through this. Everyone is going to have to modify how they’re accustomed to living life but we’re strong. We’ll make it.
“It’s going to take time but if everyone does their part, if everyone is mindful of the things they need to do, that time will be shorter. There is a light there. We will be OK.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 3:30 PM with the headline "‘It is tough.’ ICU nurse treats, comforts NC coronavirus patients and their families.."
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