Occupational Therapist,
Los Angeles, CA
This is part of our series, Flattened By the Curve, which features the voices of doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, and others on the front lines against COVID-19. For information on how to submit, click here.
It’s gown then gloves — yes
Take them off in the reverse
Then bleach the face shield
My mom sent me these
No, they are K-ninety-fives
They are from China
Some things are the same
The radio is playing
“How will I know if”
The sub IV nurse
Usually works in plastics
Misses “butts and boobs”
I have an update
My test came back negative
But I am coughing
Three days symptom-free
That is what they said before
A conspiracy?
Documentation
Even in emergencies
You have to write it
Water is dripping
A plumbing emergency
During corona
What does “purple” mean
Technically Negative
Still wear all your gear
Two negative tests
Both within twenty-four hours
That’s how you are cleared
The Positive ones
They will cross contaminate
Save them for the end
I’m your therapist
Try to sit at edge of bed
I know you are tired
He seems worse today
The radio still playing
It’s mostly eighties
Simple directions
I guess I’ll use baby oil
He has a Bible
I tried to learn it
Give last rites to the dying
They died before I—
Fiona Rose Purdon is an Occupational Therapist living Los Angeles County. She works in a skilled nursing facility, where she navigates treating both negative and positive COVID patients without spreading infection. Somehow, she can still momentarily forget that there is a pandemic.