Friggin Covid. I'm sure there's a consensus that it sucks. For me personally, I haven't had to have much to deal with this on a patient level. When we started to get COVID pt's in our ICU, I got a workplace accomodation as I have a IgG deficiency and I also take Humira which further decreases my immunity levels. My IgG deficiency tends to affect my lungs in particular and so I had a conversation with my MD about the accomodation to not have any suspected, presumptive or confirmed cases of COVID. The notion is is that if I were to contract it, that I would be one of the unfortunate few who would require ICU admittance and probably be intubated. So to protect me, I got it done. Paperwork was sent off to Oc Health and it was granted.
Then when they were reevaluating the accommodation status of everyone in the hospital, mine was as well. I explained to them why I needed the accommodation and what not and they told me that they would speak to the Oc Health Dr and get back to me. They did, and I was told that the Dr had advised that I be redeployed permanently out of bedside nursing!!! I told them that I appreciated that they care enough to recommend that but that I was kindly declining that. I told them that I had mitigated my risk by leaving ER and moving to ICU... that in the ICU I am generally 1:1 or 1:2, unlike in the ER when you could be up to 1:5/6.... and when the pt finally gets to ICU, we generally have an idea of what they have and there are generally treatments available for whatever ails them and so IF I were to catch whatever a patient has, there is the treatment available. And if there redeployed me elsewhere, med-surg is generally 1:4 and up to 1:8.... and if they put me in a clinic I could be exposed to as many people as 100 per day.... so obviously the risk is smaller in the ICU when I'm only going to be exposed to as many as 2 ppl.
When I explained it that way they responded that I had clearly given this some thought.... of course, it is my health and life we're talking about!
So I've been trudging along in the ICU, not having to care for COVID pts when an unexpected thing happened...
I had gotten my hot drink from the coffee place in our hospital and was walking to my unit and somehow pinched a nerve in my neck. Holy crap was it painful! So I was on modified for a bit and when our area of the world opened up a bit and I could go see a chiropractor and he put me on further modified duties and so I was taken out of ICU because they couldn't accommodate my restrictions.... no bending/twisting, no lifting over 10 lbs, no raising my arms above my shoulders and no pushing or pulling. He figured that I was compensating for my neck with my lower back. So then I became a COVID screener and have been there since, goodness I miss being a nurse!
Well then one particular day I had a particularly busy shift and when I went to the chiropractor and did an adjustment on my back, a very minor one on my lower back in particular, I couldn't put any pressure on my lower back, I had crazy pain travelling down both of my legs and I couldn't stand up. The chiropractor gave me some numbing cream to put on the area and in about 20 min I was finally able to stand, but lifting my feet was still an issue and it still hurt to do so. These symptoms got better with time thankfully but the chiropractor thinks there's something structurally wrong with my lower back and stated that I need a MRI to figure out what's going on and that I shouldn't go back to full duties until I get this done. Not that hubby agrees with this. He wants me back in the ICU ASAP, be damned if I get hurt again or more.
So for the time being I screen ppl for COVID symptoms as they're coming into the ICU... behind glass and in proper PPE. I hate it, but it's an easy job for sure. We'll see where this takes me.
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