It's no secret that the last few years have been hard with the pandemic. Now, with a potential outbreak of yet another virus, it's hard to imagine that there is any kind of end in sight.
But it's easy to forget how hard some professionals had it during the peak of the pandemic, including waitstaff and nurses.
Chenedy—@nurse.chen on TikTok—decided to remind the app this week of the hardships nurses had experienced during the pandemic, as well as how tired they are now in the face of the monkeypox spread.
Chenedy simply captioned the video:
"Y'aaaaaaalllll (Y'all). Healthcare workers are fed up, I'm telling you."
In the video, Chenedy was honest about what being a nurse looks like now.
"As healthcare workers, we are scared of monkeypox. Like, legit, we are terrified."
"One pandemic was enough. It's enough. It's okay, we're okay, we don't want any more."
"We're scared and we don't want to do it."
"Another damn pandemic? Are you guys for real?"
"This sh*t is exhausting. Exhausting. Pray for healthcare, please."
You can see her video here.
Some empathized with Chenedy and expressed their support for nurses.
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
Nurses in the comments agreed they were tired.
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
And don't even get them started on the nightmares they were having...
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
Others were openly considering leaving the field altogether.
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
@nurse.chen/TikTok
There were a few skeptical people in the comments, however, which Chenedy addressed.
In another video, she pointed out how often nurses were leaving the profession.
Chenedy shared:
"It's crazy to me that some people think nurses can't quit their job. Are we not allowed to put in a two-week notice? Are we not allowed to change career paths?"
"Because I hate to break it to you, but that's already happening. Nurses have been leaving the bedside before the pandemic, and during the pandemic, so many nurses left."
"And now with monkeypox, more nurses are leaving."
"We have people waiting in the E.R. for days because we don't have enough nurses to staff these units."
"It's not like the pandemic is over, and hospitals magically got better. It's not like nurses aren't still tired."
Though monkeypox is not particularly widespread yet and its effects are not particularly deadly, much of the fear circulating is due to the ongoing nature of the previous pandemic overlapping with a new one.
There's no sense of when this could end or when any of us could catch a break.
And if anyone could use a break, it's definitely healthcare professionals.
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit