Gina Mendoza, María Alcaraz and Karla Menjivar have a lot in common: they are Hispanic, they are mothers and they are nurses in the first line of combat against coronavirus at the Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.
“Since the coronavirus started it has been a ball of emotions. As a nurse it is something new that gives you the opportunity to learn; but on the other hand, seeing people in a critical situation, being isolated without their relatives by their side, is very frustrating, "says Gina Mendoza, a nurse in the emergency room.
However, she is encouraged to see the response from the community. "Most see us as essential people. We are glad that they finally recognize the work we've always done"
The pandemic has put a lot of stress on their lives because of the changes in work routines and patient care that hospitals have made.
“We always want the patient to be comfortable and have a family member nearby. That is very important especially in the Hispanic community. So to see them isolated in a moment of fear and without anyone in the family is very hard. ”
Gina says that as nurses they are worried about spreading themselves, even taking all the necessary precautions such as using extra shoes to avoid putting them in the house, masks, protective glasses and hand washing.
She works twelve-hour days a day. "I work six days straight, and six days rest."
In addition to having a very demanding job, she is the mother of five children. Sebastián, 17, Nathan, 15, Maddison, 14, David, 12, and Lucia, 6.
How do you combine your work as a nurse and mother?
“I couldn't without the help of my mom and dad who live with me. When I have to work, they are at home with my children. "
Her husband, an elevator mechanic, has been fortunate to continue the job during quarantine.
"The truth is that when I'm working, I don't have to worry about it."
Gina reveals that this May 10, is the first Mother's Day that she does not have to work. "We are going to celebrate all locked up."
And what he most desires – he admits – is for everything to return to normal. "It motivates me to continue in my work, to see people who follow the rules of staying at home. That helps us not get sick and don't come to the emergency rooms. "
The challenges
Karla Menjivar is a nurse who works in the COVID-19 patient care unit of the Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, three days a week in 12-hour days.
Additionally, he works two days a week in a clinic.
She is also the mother of two children, ages 8 and 13.
"The hardest thing during this pandemic has been going home at night and teaching her. I leave at six in the morning and return at eight at night, when my children already want to sleep, "he explains.
Fortunately, her husband, who leaves earlier than her, also supports the tasks. "My days off, I dedicate them totally to my children."
Regarding COVID-19, she says that although people are a little more relaxed, those who, like her, work in daily contact with the sick, continue to fear becoming infected and infecting their loved ones.
"Although we are no longer as scared as at the beginning, we have seen very strong cases; and one can not stop saying, that case could be me, or one of my relatives"
Karla says that the hospital has given them the alternative of staying in a hotel, or in an Airbnb department. “For me it has never been an option because I have small children. It meant leaving my family, and I didn't want to. ”
Occasionally her oldest son has told her that she is afraid of going to work at the hospital, and has asked her to stay home better.
“There is a lot of exposure that we face every day. Although we protect ourselves, we are exposed to COVID-19 for 12 hours. Sometimes even drinking water scares us. ”
But this mother shares that nursing has always been her passion, and even more so serving Hispanics in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, particularly because – she says – it is a very grateful community.
“I am going to spend this Mother's Day in my house, with my children and my mother who also lives with us. My husband is going to cook for everyone, ”says Karla, who has been a nurse for ten years.
Although she accepts that it saddens her that many fellow nurses are not going to spend it with their family, because they are living in a hotel or in an Airbnb apartment. "I feel privileged to spend Mother's Day with my mom."
Live the pandemic
María Alcaraz's first anniversary as a nurse was celebrated in March, and she spent caring for coronavirus patients in the COVID-19 unit of the Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. She is the mother of Diany, an 11 year old girl.
"When they hire you, they tell you about the possibility that someday you will have to care for people affected by a catastrophe, but I never thought that I would have to live a pandemic"
He acknowledges that he is afraid of the virus, but remembering that he chose his profession to help the community gives him strength.
"If not me, who. Sometimes I see what they struggle with in the hospital when someone doesn't get to work. ”
Among her classmates, she says, there is a lot of concern about taking the virus home.
"It is very difficult to ensure that we are completely clean. As much as you put on the protective equipment, and wash your hands. ”
When you get home, you go directly to the bathroom from the front door. Luckily, we have two bathrooms. And now with the coronavirus, there is one that only I use. ” Once clean, she feels more comfortable hugging her children and her husband.
This Mother's Day, Maria will spend it working. “We celebrate it on Friday. But with everything that is happening, I am satisfied to celebrate at home with my children watching cartoons"
Of course, it reveals that it weighs a lot to him not to have contact with his mother. “Because of the coronavirus, I haven't seen her in a month and a half. It hurts me not to be able to see her and hug her. ”
But Karla is armed with patience and hopes that in a short time, the pandemic will lessen and she can hug her mother. "We are already seeing it in other continents and countries," she says animatedly.
