What's it like for a health-care worker right now? For this mom, it's a time of sacrifice
CBC News | Posted: April 30, 2020 10:30 AM | Last Updated: April 30, 2020
Critical care nurse stopped physical contact with 3-year-old on April 1
Dawn Cooper loves her three-year-old son more than anything in the world. That's why she made a decision to stay away from him.
Cooper, a critical care nurse at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's, is the subject of a widely shared photograph — in which she is kissing her son through a window at his grandparents' house — that was posted to Facebook on April 19.
At that point, Cooper had gone 18 days without embracing her boy.
"April 1 was the last time I got a hug from my little guy," she told CBC's On the Go. "Hardest thing I've ever had to do."
For the safety of her family, Cooper decided to send her son to live with his grandparents until the pandemic passes in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It's been harder on her than it has been for her son.
"I think it's harder on me because I actually understand everything that's going on, and I guess the uncertainty and timelines of when I'll get back to him," she said.
"He's just excited that he's getting to spend time with nanny and poppy. But he has his off days. He doesn't understand all the time why mommy can't give him a hug or why mommy is not there to tuck him in at night."
Cooper said she's found solace from her coworkers, many of whom are going through the same thing at home. They focus on their work during their shifts. On the drive home, Cooper said, the reality sets in.
Aside from disruption in their home lives, Cooper said work life is also drastically different for health-care workers these days.
Most procedures have been postponed to create space in the hospital. Staff do not wear their own scrubs, nor bring anything to work with them that they'll have to take home.
The goal is to crush the chances the virus makes it home with them.
She still has contact with her son through the window, over FaceTime, or at a safe distance while he plays outside.
Despite all she's given up, Cooper rejects any notion that she's a hero.
"Nursing is my job. It's what I enjoy doing. It's just, you know, right now we have to make a little bit [of] a different sacrifice."