“I’m an RN. I’ve been in nursing for about a year. And let me tell you, it was a tough year to be a first-time nurse.

“I was working on a medical-surgical floor in a smaller hospital. We got to see a little bit of everything, and it kept you very busy. Our unit was the only one that they kept COVID free. But they would pull some of us to COVID units whenever they needed extra staff.

“That part was really challenging. I had patients who at the beginning of the day were not requiring oxygen. But by the end of the day, they were one step away from intubation. The progression was pretty scary.

“Whatever I may have thought my first year as a nurse was going to be like, it was not that. I’m 23, trying to figure out how to be an adult on my own. And now I’m thrown into taking care of people who are extremely sick. And they go to very sick, very quickly. I had to trust my gut and my education. It was a steep learning curve for sure.

“I also learned to rely on the staff around me. We all stuck together. It really became like a family. My co-workers, the charge nurses, and the managers, everybody was awesome. When you needed help, you could rely on your team members. If I had felt alone and that I couldn’t ask for help, that would have been terrifying. I had a team that I could ask any question, 1,000 questions, all day long. That’s what made it doable.

“As a new nurse, you want to show that you’re competent. But if you’re overconfident, you’re probably going to mess something up. I’d rather ask questions. When you see older, more experienced nurses ask the charge nurse about something, you feel comfortable as a new nurse asking questions. There’s no shame in doing that. You will never know it all. And you see something new every day. That was definitely true for me during my first year as a nurse.”

— Allie Marionneaux

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“I played volleyball in middle school and high school. Then I got a full ride to play at Lee College. It was my first year there, and we were at a tournament in the El Paso area when I landed wrong from blocking. I tore my ACL, meniscus and everything. I knew instantly.

“So I did the surgery. I did the rehab. I tried everything to get back into it. But I just knew it wasn’t going to be the same. I didn’t trust my knee enough to do the physical movements. I knew the sport was done for me.

“It was definitely upsetting. Being so young at the time, I thought my life was over. I wanted to eventually go into a four-year college program like my friends from our high school team. I really wanted to do volleyball as a full-time thing. But after blowing out my knee, I had to pick a different career.

“Right out of high school, I started working as a medical assistant at an OB-GYN office in Baytown. It’s the reason I decided to go into nursing. That and the fact that my mom has been a nurse for years. At the time of my injury, she was studying to become a nurse practitioner. She was constantly a role model to pursue a career in the medical field, and always encouraging me to do something big.

“I’m in nursing school at UTMB Galveston. It’s online right now, but hopefully we’ll go back to in-person soon. I’m still at the OB-GYN office, and I work alongside my mom. That’s been pretty cool.

“We really are best friends, so we work really well together. We mesh well. It’s like I know what she wants before she even wants it. Of course, we are mother-daughter, so sometimes we do butt heads. But for the most part, it’s been really nice.”

— Delany Boyd

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“We’ve been seeing a gradual decline in the number of COVID patients. The last time I was at work, we had a few empty beds. That hasn’t been the case in a very long time. I definitely think it’s because more people are being vaccinated.

“I believe in the vaccine. Vaccinated people can still get sick, but they don’t get as sick. We’re seeing more of that. More good stories. Vaccinated people are actually getting out of the ICU.

“When it comes to people feeling like they’re being forced to do something, they’re always going to be reluctant. But right now, that vaccine is saving lives.

“We had a 31-year-old patient come in with COVID. She was unvacinnated, and she succumbed to the virus. One of the saddest things for us as nurses is when the family comes in and has to face the tragedy. In this case, a 10-year-old girl was pulled out of school to say her last goodbye to her mom. I don’t think there was a dry eye on that unit.

“It was a Hispanic family, and nobody spoke English. But you didn’t need a translator to feel the emotion from that little girl. She wailed for her mom. She begged for her mom to come back and to not leave her.

“That’s a story that will stick with me. I have an 8-year-old daughter. And I just couldn’t imagine leaving her.

“We’ve seen too many people die from this. Don’t treat it like it’s nothing. Because I can guarantee that even if it’s nothing to you, it can be something to someone else. We’re all going through this together. We all can do our part. I encourage everybody to do their part and get vaccinated.”

— Kelvin Gray

Related:

• ‘COVID has let us know exactly how mortal we are’

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“One thing I’ve learned is to never feel like everything is OK. It was March this year when the majority of extra nurses — travelers like me — were sent back home. We all thought COVID was finally settling down or somewhat over. It took just two months, and suddenly we had this big spike with the delta variant.

“This whole experience has definitely been traumatizing. I don’t ever feel like we’re safe.

“I’ve been an ICU nurse for seven years now. In the first five years of my career, I didn’t see so many people die cumulatively as I have these past two years. I’ve seen so much death.

“As nurses, we often compare our level of PTSD to soldiers on the battlefield. Although it’s a different style of fighting, we’re all striving to preserve human life. And to see so many people fall in front of you … I can’t imagine anyone going through this and not coming away scathed in some kind of way.

“Talking to other nurses, we’re all we’ve got when it comes to actually understanding what this feels like. Thankfully, the hospitals offer counseling. They give us prayers a lot of times before our shift starts. But it still feels like you’re walking into doom.

“I went through a period when after a long stretch of days off, I would have anxiety about going back. I would literally be shaking before the shift, because I never knew what was going to happen. I feel like I’ve always been someone who’s resilient when it comes to emotional stress. But this has been something totally different.

“COVID has let us know exactly how mortal we are. To see that every day, it has changed me as a person.”

— Kelvin Gray

Related:

• ICU nurse stresses importance of vaccine

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“I stopped working for a while because I was scared of all the COVID. But he did go to work. Maybe it was there that he got sick. Then I got it, too.

“I didn’t have any problems. So I just took care of him. He went to the hospital emergency room two times. He had a high fever for 14 days. That was the worst part. After that he was fine, but he felt so tired. So he stayed home for a few months. The doctor said it would be better for him.

“Now he’s back to work. I’m back at work. We hope everything is going to be all right.

“Our daughter, Guadalupe, is a nurse in the COVID unit at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital. It’s now an IMCU/COVID unit due to the acuity of the patients in this current surge.

“She finished school, and has been working there a few months. At first, it was so hard to see her leave home and go to work there. She’s working with COVID patients, so we’ve been worried about her a lot.

“But she already had the vaccine. She has lots of protection with masks and shields and clothes. They change and change all day. So I think she’s fine. She looks happy. She prays every day about the people who are sick, and about us because she worries about us, too.

“Sometimes I think she’s going to be so sad when she’s back at home. But no. She says, ‘Mom, I’m so happy to be helping people.’ I’m so proud of her. And I pray for her.”

— Fanny Zepeda

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• Love takes them from Mexico to U.S.

The post Nurse daughter caring for COVID patients appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I worked for a while at the hospital as a CNA [certified nursing assistant]. When I had my youngest son, I started staying home. I was working 12-hour shifts. But I decided that him being successful was more important. I wanted to make sure he stayed on the right path throughout school. I wanted to keep him from drifting off into doing bad things. I felt as long as I was able to stay on him and keep him occupied, like playing sports, it would be better than some kid out there doing mischievous things and getting into trouble.

“I had just been through it with my older son. He had a few problems. He kind of stepped off into the wrong direction. He ended up doing a little time. But he’s changed his direction and his ways. He’s doing OK now. My daughter’s also doing well. She had her first baby, who’s 8 months old and very spoiled. I’m extremely proud of my kids.

“I went through some challenging times, overcoming drugs and being an addict. The turning point was when my best friend for years was murdered. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. He was walking away from a situation, and they shot him four times. It was a life-changing moment. I figured that could easily have been me. I’ve been sober for five years now. It’s a struggle every day. My kids are what keep me going.

“My youngest son lives with his dad. He was in high school when we separated. Because I didn’t want to disturb his stability, I told him he should stay with his dad. He was pretty upset.

“But he’s a senior now. He’s a very smart kid. And he loves football. He’s played it all his life. He’s hoping to get a college scholarship. He’s got some scouts looking at him. He wants to be able to play on Saturdays. After that, he wants to play on Sundays in the NFL. He’s really motivated.

“While I’ve made some mistakes along the way, I’ve never regretted leaving that nursing job. If I didn’t, my son might not be in the position he’s in today.”

— Rachel Rayon

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“I got my CNA [certified nursing assistant] license and started working at an all-boys CPS [Child Protective Services] facility. I went in there with a good mental state a year ago. I thought I could handle it and make a difference. But it didn’t work out.

“These kids who had been abused began abusing me. They would hit on us, punch us, bite us, spit on us. I kind of just dealt with it for a while. When our facility was hit with COVID, I had to stay there with everyone. That was a lot to handle. The kids didn’t understand why we weren’t moving anywhere, like not going to school. So they did everything possible to abuse us as caretakers.

“After a 14-year-old hit me, I called the cops. But they didn’t do anything. There was no parenting and no consequences for these kids. That’s when I was like, I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.

“Now I work for a health care provider, taking care of the elderly who can’t do things on their own. I go to their houses and help with things like baths, preparing food, and making sure they take their medicine.

“It can be challenging in some cases. I took care of a lady in hospice who just passed the other day. She was 91. She told me that her life fulfillment was complete. She had no regrets. She was ready for God to take her. Being that a lot of people are afraid of death, I thought that was so interesting. Because I was her care provider, I’m going to her funeral.

“I also work with military veterans and others who have seen a lot and experienced so much in life. I think I can learn some life lessons from them that will help me as an adult. Plus, it just feels nice to help them. When I enter my car after being at someone’s home, it feels like I really accomplished something important.”

— James Rodgers

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“I’m thinking about officially quitting nursing. I’m just tired. I’ve been at it for 43 years. I started in doctors’ offices in hospitals. Since then, I’ve done everything known to mankind.

“I worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at their women’s prison farm in Texas City. I was a case manager at UT Medical Branch in Galveston. I’ve run two adult daycare centers, which was my favorite job. And 12 of my years in nursing were in psych. Harris County Psychiatric Center had a position open in admissions, and they needed somebody pretty quick. So I thought, what the heck. I’ll give it a try. Oh, man, it was something else.

“When I started, guys would come in wearing aluminum caps. They said it was keeping the government and satellites from zapping their heads. Every year we’d get a visit from a guy who told us he was Tupac Shakur, and he needed to be admitted. We saw a lady who claimed to be the mother of Michael Jackson’s daughter. She said, ‘Michael Jackson was my husband.’

“There were times when people were truly psychotic. But typically, it was all drug-induced stuff. One time a woman came in from the streets and said, ‘I’m a vampire. I feel like sucking blood tonight. So I thought to be safe, I’d come here.’ I tried breaking her. I acted all dumb and said, ‘I remember when I was in nursing school, we learned there were like three main types of blood.’ She said, ‘No, there’s four.’ And I said, ‘Right, there’s four. So do they all taste alike?’ I mean, I tried to get her to crack. But she was into it. She was really character driven. I tried to get her to a place where I could tell this was all just so much hooey. It was during the time of those ‘Twilight’ movies. The work there could be pretty challenging, but I found it fascinating.

“Now, after all these years — I graduated from Lee College’s nursing program in 1978 — I’m just tired. I think I’m ready to try something else besides nursing. But I’m not quite sure what. I’m still curious about stuff. I’m not ready to say, ‘OK, I’m done. Give me the first shovelful.’ I just haven’t found what I want to do with the rest of my life yet.”

— Jan White

The post After 43 years, nurse ready for something different appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m divorced. My ex-wife and I share our daughter evenly. And I thank God for my profession. As an ICU nurse working the night shift, I’m able to set up my schedule so I can spend the most time possible with her. During the days that I don’t have her, I can still do things like have lunch with her at school or talk with her on the phone. Every day, whether in person or not, I try to have some time with her.

“My daughter and I are very close, which is really important to me. Because a divorce is hard on everybody. That’s another aspect of what this Spiderman thing is. If I do what I’m doing to make other kids happy and inspired, I try to go even beyond that for my own. I just want to carry my daughter along on the journey. I make videos so I can document what she and I have had growing up.

“I take the role of fatherhood very seriously. A lot of people say that. But I think we can be pretty easily written out of the story — our importance, our influence. I don’t want my daughter to ever feel like that, regardless of what I’ve been through in my marital life. I don’t ever want her to feel like Dad’s not her hero.”

— Kelvin Gray

Learn more about Kelvin and his Spiderman persona on his Facebook page, MrGlass FromBaytown.

Related:

• No matter the outfit, he strives to be a hero

• Spiderman and daughter take positivity to the streets

The post Divorced dad takes fatherhood very seriously appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m a registered nurse. I work the ICU. I’ve been doing it for five years now. And I love it. Because being a nurse embodies some of the same principles as being Spiderman.

“I tell people that I have two uniforms, and that’s all I wear. When I’m not wearing my scrubs, I’m in my Spiderman suit. Either way, I’m helping people. I’m changing lives.

“That’s the way I try to consider this whole thing. If I can be a hero in some way for someone else, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

— Kelvin Gray

Learn more about Kelvin and his Spiderman alter ego on the Facebook page, MrGlass FromBaytown.

Related:

• Spiderman and daughter take positivity to the streets

• Divorced dad takes fatherhood very seriously

The post No matter the outfit, he strives to be a hero appeared first on The Baytown Project.