My mother, Eden Hankins, in her attire that she usually wears to work during the pandemic. photo by Tess Ware
COVID affects every family differently; here is one TJ family’s experience.
My mother, Eden Hankins, has been an OBGYN Nurse Practitioner for 25 years. With COVID-19 in full swing, she states, “I have never experienced anything like this.” After she graduated from college, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, so she started being a receptionist at an OBGYN clinic in Portland, Oregon, and that’s when she realized that was her calling. She applied to go to graduate school at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. There, she received her master’s degree in nursing, but that was just the beginning of her journey. She has worked all over the country and the world in many different clinics doing what she loves, seeing women and pregnant patients every day. She has been working for Kaiser Permanent for the past five years. She loves her patients and the work she is doing, but she never thought she would be working in conditions like this. The biggest changes at work have been, “cutting the number of patients in nearly half, limiting the amount of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and the amount of anxiety about getting sick,” Hankins explained.
Changes to their patient numbers were cut almost immediately. COVID had just been reported in Washington, and that’s when she really knew that big changes were coming. Hankins explained her new patient schedule by saying, “Changes to our practice and patient schedules started happening overnight. Patients with non-urgent medical issues were asked to reschedule or cancel their appointments so they wouldn’t have to come to a medical facility. Pregnant patients were no longer allowed to bring spouses or family members to their appointments, but prenatal care is considered medically essential so we advised them to continue to come in for visits.” Not only did this put her pregnant patients at risk of getting the virus, but it also made her patients’ anxiety levels go through the roof. There was no evidence that the virus would hit harder in pregnant women, but everyone was still on edge. Everyone was scared and no one really knew what would happen next. Hankins’ job soon became more about helping her patients with their anxiety than it was actually caring for her patients. Everyone in her office was scared about getting sick, and their anxiety levels were skyrocketing. Work had become exhausting and anxiety-driven. As patients entered into the building, their temperatures would be taken on the first level, if they had no fever they were welcome to enter and go get the care they needed. If they had a fever of any amount, they were asked to go home and call a doctor to see if they should be tested. My mom gets her temperature checked every time she enters the building, no matter the circumstances.
The PPE that they were given was taken and reused over many days and patients. Kaiser employees were getting emails from corporate offices that stated, “we don’t have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to allow healthcare providers to use masks as designed: one mask per patient to be disposed of when the visit is over.” Instead, they were given one mask to wear all day no matter how many patients they were seeing. Initially, the health providers were asked to return the masks and that they would be cleaned and then reused. The workers union raised safety concerns to the corporate leaders and that was later deemed unsafe and unhealthy, not only for the providers but also for the patients. Many providers soon after were bringing in their own mask to work because there was no longer any available at the office. We had friends and family members sending us packages upon packages full of homemade masks to make sure my mom had enough for a day at work. Kaiser was telling their employees, “There is nothing they can do because there are simply no masks available. They can’t buy more and there won’t be anymore in the foreseeable future,” Hankins states. Now my mom wears one mask a day and hopes that she will not be coughed or sneezed on during her patient visits.
The anxiety of my mother getting sick is a daily thought that goes through her head, my head, and my older sister’s head. My mom is a single mom who provides health benefits for both me and my sister. A week ago, my mom went into work with a constant headache, nausea, and muscle aches and was talking to one of the doctors she works with about her symptoms. The doctor told her she needs to call in and see if she should get tested. This made my mom’s anxiety go to extreme levels. She was told she needed to go in and get tested, even with the random symptoms she had. Hankins explained her anxiety thoughts as, “Where do my kids need to go if I’m hospitalized? Will I get them sick? How can I help others feel safe if I don’t feel safe?” Her test came back negative about 24 hours later, so that was a sense of relief but we still live in an anxiety-driven lifestyle right now.
COVID has definitely put everyone’s life on hold, but it can also teach us a lot about ourselves. My mom going to the front lines every day is definitely stressful for me and my sister at home. Living in the constant fear that my mom could come home positive at any moment or she could be sent to the hospital is terrifying. She is doing all she can right now to stay positive and safe, but it is not easy in any way. Whether or not people are considered “essential” workers right now, the current climate fosters anxiety and fear of the unknown. However, hopefully people are able to focus on what they can control in order to stay safe.
