After the COVID-19 spring surge, nurse Jennifer Williams started taking a blood pressure medication and seeing a therapist. Her stress level dropped this summer, but now, as her COVID-19 unit at Sturdy Memorial Hospital fills again, Williams says she feels the panic rising. Some days, after work, she sits in her car and cries.
“I didn’t realize the impact that it had on me during the spring because it was busy, and it was new,” she says. Now “emotionally, I have to brace myself.”
This time around Williams knows, in advance, how devastating the disease can be.