Chronicling COVID: How My Nursing Dream Became a Nightmare

By: Patricia B. Crain, MSN BSN RN

New Year’s 2020 was just like every other joyful celebration before for Patricia B. Crain MSN BSN RN. She went into the new year with hope for a happy and healthy year ahead, but the recent discovery and explosion of COVID-19 upended those plans and altered her life completely. Working as a registered nurse in the ICU, Crain’s day-to-day changed in an instant, with more and more protocols and safety measures to follow, to watch patient after patient arrive critically-ill and on ventilators, overwhelming the hospital system and staff. Crain details her incredible struggle and heart-wrenching moments from inside the ICU during the COVID pandemic, a sight very few have been able to truly experience.