I am not just somebody’s son. I am the son of somebody you may have never had to see until right now.
My mother has been a nurse in the greater Boston area for three decades. She has worked across every role in health care, from the emergency room to home hospices. Right now, during the coronavirus pandemic, she is doing what medical professionals everywhere are doing all over the world: saving lives.
The World Health Organization labeled 2020 the “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.” It’s turning out to be more prophetic than we realized. You probably know a health care worker on the front lines right now, whether it’s a doctor, a nurse, an EMT, or a pharmacist. If not personally, you are no more than a degree removed. And more likely than not, that person is dealing with extreme circumstances, long hours, an onslaught of stressors, and dwindling resources to keep up with the demand.
I used to fear my mother’s aging and what that might mean. She broke three ribs last summer yet still worked full-day shifts until the pain, according to her, “got a little uncomfortable.” I’ve seen her…
