'It's been very traumatic': Exhausted health workers in COVID-19 ICU keep up the fight
Declining COVID-19 case numbers have given many British Columbians hope for the summer. The province has promised if specific targets are met, residents could soon enjoy much more freedom.
But for the professionals working tirelessly inside Surrey Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 intensive care unit, the fight is far from over.
"I think it'll be pretty overwhelming when you sit and reflect on everything that's gone on because we've seen a lot, it's been very traumatic," says Manjot Kaur, an ICU Nurse. "We have to tough it through because it’s our job and we want to help."
Surrey has been a COVID-19 hotspot for much of the pandemic, meaning inside the hospital it has been a beehive of activity for many months now. Vaccinations are helping bend the curve back down, but with 59 people still in intensive care across the province, medical professional are not ready to relax.
"I'm encouraged but I don't think we can let our guard down," says Dr. Greg Haljan, department head of critical care at Surrey Memorial. "The virus isn't gone, it's still producing variants of concern and from our perspective, we're just trying to stay one step ahead."
“We've been running well above capacity for 15 months, capacity not being ventilators, not beds, not physical space – our capacity is people and our people are tired."
The coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on frontline workers. For many of the people who work in hospitals, it has been a non-stop battle and the workers have had little time to come to terms with the severity of what they’re dealing with. For now, they lean on each other for support.
"We just kind of had to go on autopilot and work and not really deal with our emotions in how we actually feel about everything because we have to wake up the next day and come back,” says Kaur. “So, it's been difficult. No time to really process."
One of the patients the tireless professionals at Surrey Memorial have been caring for is 49-year-old Joseph Trudeau. The father of five has been in hospital for several months, and to make matters worse, his wife Karla Trudeau says shortly before contracting COVID-19, he was also diagnosed with lymphoma.
“My husband got sick so fast,” says Trudeau. I always pray that he will get better for us because we need him. I need him and my kids need him, so it's really hard."
Also in early May, with her husband in hospital, Karla and her five kids were forced out of their home by a fire. While they look for long-term accommodation, they are currently living with a family member.
"It's just unreal, an unreal situation that you think can never happen to you, until it really happens to you,” says Trudeau.
In the meantime, she has a warning for the rest of us who might think this fight is over.
“Don’t take your life for granted. Stay home, they’re telling you that for a reason,” says Trudeau. “Look at my husband, he is super sick. My goodness, open your eyes people – it’s real, it’s real.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
Israeli military finds bodies of 3 Gaza hostages killed at music festival
Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.