Aurora officials were brought to tears Thursday as Mayor Richard Irvin recited a nurse’s viral plea after the area saw a rapid coronavirus surge.
Irvin shared the viral written plea of nurse Carol Williams, who works in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, and her experience with the pandemic on the forefront.
The mayor asked council members to examine the nurse’s eyes and face, finding fatigue, pain and frustration, as he recited the following:
Just stop…..Stop thinking this is just like the flu, it isn’t. Stop telling me the survival rate so it’s not a big deal, it is a big deal. Stop saying healthcare workers signed up for this, we didn’t. Stop ignoring science based recommendations of masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, and not gathering in large crowds, they work. Stop kidding yourself that this isn’t going to affect you or someone you love or know, it will. Stop thinking that only unhealthy people with preexisting medical conditions or elderly people are the ones dying, they aren’t the only ones.Stop being confident that if you get sick from anything, the resources to save you will be readily available, that may not be in this stage of the pandemic. Stop believing hospitals aren’t being overrun because of the massive influx of Covid patients at this moment, they are. Stop thinking if they make makeshift areas to house more patients there will be properly trained staff to care for them, there may not be. Stop believing that all frontline healthcare workers are properly protected with PPE, many across the country STILL are not. Stop ignoring that healthcare workers are also getting sick themselves, it’s happening. Stop believing that doctors are profiting from this pandemic, they aren’t. Stop politicizing this virus, it’s a public health crisis. If you are taking this pandemic seriously, doing the best you can to be safe and protect others, THANK YOU. If you are not, please start now. I am begging you!
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