without crying."
Ms. Borgonos has undergone two open heart surgeries to correct
congenital abnormalities, the most recent two years ago. "My friends
and family pleaded with me to take a leave of absence so I'm not
exposed to the coronavirus, but I can't help myself," she says.
Her experience is unique, but not unusual. When the coronavirus
shut down ORs across the country, thousands of surgical profession-
als rushed to the frontlines of the nationwide response to the out-
break. They volunteered to work at COVID-19 testing stations, teamed
up with critical care nurses in hospital ICUs and pitched in wherever
and whenever they were needed.
Their reasons for doing are based on the esoteric concept of a
career calling seemingly predetermined by inherent compassion,
virtue and guts. The straight shooters of the OR have a simpler view
of what drives them to help heal a nation.
"My colleagues and patients need me," says Ms. Borgonos. "Getting
out would have been easy. Staying and doing as much as I can to help
is the right thing to do."
Surgical nurse Megan Siddel, RN, ADN, could have stayed at home
in Savannah, Ga., but knew she had to get to New York City and
requested a travel assignment to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn.
"It's a heartache," says Ms. Siddel, describing the visceral pull she
felt to help. "It's impossible to sit back and watch people suffer when
you have the skills to help make things better."
COVID-19 causes the lower lobes of the lungs to fill with mucus,
preventing them from filling with oxygen, says Ms. Siddel. "It's a thick,
tenacious mucus that can't be removed by suction," she says. "You're
working to keep patients oxygenated and maintain functional heart
rates and blood pressures throughout the shift."
Once patients are put on a ventilator, it's difficult to get them off.
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