It was an ordinary day. Picked up the "Perspective" section of my local LNP Sunday News and there was this young woman staring back at me. Kinda spooky...to say the least. And then I read the name above the story that accompanied the photograph. Renee Logan was one of my favorite students when she was at Manheim Township High School. I had her in my photography class and she eventually made it a part-time business after marriage. She still lives in Manheim Township and her children are going through the school district as she did years ago. A few years ago, while taking photos of the school musical for the Landis Run Intermediate School, I ran into Renee, who is now Renee Logan Heller. She was at the school to help get the students prepared for their dress rehearsal as well as take a few shots for herself with her camera. She was still the same Renee that she had been back in high school. So full of energy and loving life. The photograph that I was staring at in front of me today didn't seem like the same Renee that I knew.
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| Rene Logan Heller, former student of mine, but now a HERO! |
And then I read her commentary that the Lancaster Newspaper published this morning and I got to see her in an entirely different light. She is still that same caring Renee, but finding it hard to understand the thinking of so many people who refuse to cooperate with our health officials and Pennsylvania's Governor Wolf and his order to temporarily close some non-essential locations in the state. I have decided to let you read her touching commentary for yourself and see what the life of a health provider is like during our current stressful times.
I took the photo accompanying this text months ago while taking a moment in the bathroom after doing CPR on a COVID-19 patient in the emergency department. I was wearing an N95 mask. I've had the privilege and horror of doing this many times over the past nine months. Some patients survive; most do not. This particular patient left our hospital in a body bag. This patient's family never got to say goodbye. This patient was among the 311,000 people who have been lost to COVID-19 in the United States. This is my daily life. So forgive me if I won't patronize the local restaurants defying the governor's order to temporarily close indoor dining. And forgive me that I don't support the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office's statement the it would not enforce "any edicts from the Governor's Office" relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forgive me that I find anti-maskers selfish. When I work my 12-hour shifts, I'm sweating so hard, the moisture drips into my eyes and rolls down my back due to all the personal protective equipment I'm wearing. My feet hurt, my head pounds. There's no time to grieve for a lost patients because I have three others who need life-sustaining care as well. And while you might think I sleep well when I get home because of exhaustion. I don't. I lie awake half the night wondering if there was something else...anything else...we could have done for the patients we lost. When did we become a society that only cares about things when we are directly affected by them? How are we so selfish that we can call something a "hoax," simply because we have not experienced it firsthand? Maybe you are lucky enough that you will never experience COVID-19. But that doesn't change the fact that this highly infectious disease is in our hospitals, and we are dealing with it...on top of the usually motor vehicle accidents, heart attacks and other life-altering occurrences. And while I and my co-workers will treat you with respect and skilled care even if you contract COVID-19 while sitting in a restaurant that should have been closed to indoor diners, or if you or others get ill because you hosted a big Christmas get-together, please know that you're the reason small businesses are in this position...not the government. Because people keep failing to heed health recommendations and keep getting infected, and the governor is only trying to make sure we are able to care for you.
Bravo! Bravo, Renee! I am so glad that someone who is on the front lines of this terrible disease is speaking up. Perhaps others may see the light soon and begin to do what is right. And, I'm so glad that there are people like you who are willing to work tirelessly to help those that become ill. You are still the same Renee that I remember from high school, but I admire and respect you so much more after reading your moving commentary. Thank you for all you are doing! You truly are a special person! You are my HERO! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| Just posted on Facebook after receiving her COVID-19 injection. |
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