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And we just sat together


I had never seen anything like this before. Mind you I stand in the trauma room and serve right alongside all the members of the medical trauma team. I have witnessed the aftermath of horrific car crashes, terrible falls, bone crushing on the job accidents and life ending gunshot injuries. As well as folks who fell because they cut the very tree limb they were standing on. I, and my chaplain compatriots, work with all of those trauma patients and as well as their families. It is not unusual to work a dozen to twenty plus traumas (levels one, two and three) during a shift. 

Yet I had never seen anything like what happened when COVID hit Oklahoma in 2020. Like many other hospitals across America ICU areas and entire floors were turned into COVID units. Where I serve as a chaplain was no exception. Seemingly overnight COVID areas were created. 

In the COVID areas I saw the hands of nurses and doctors that were dry and irritated from constant hand washing and the use of high alcohol content hand sanitizer. I remember the hands of one doctor in particular. His hands had turned red from constantly washing his hands as he donned and doffed PPE between COVID rooms. I saw the emotionally drained faces of medical professionals witnessing another COVID death. I heard stories from janitors, nurses, doctors and medical technicians who were terrified to go home to their families for fear they might get someone sick. 

There were also long shifts with patients that required constant care. As soon as the nurse got the medication flowing through one IV pump the beep from five to ten other IV pumps could be heard going off. And that was just for one patient. It was a constant beeping sound because there were so many IV pumps being used. Just one patient could have ten different IV pumps. In addition to the unending task of donning and doffing PPE to enter COVID rooms. I got used to seeing members of the medical team with red marks on the bridge of their nose or on the cheeks of their face from wearing various kinds of masks for hours at a time.

All of this to say I had never seen anything like this before. Everyone was tired. Everyone was worn thin emotionally, physically and spiritually. For some medical workers the only way to cope was to become numb. The trauma of experiencing death daily was just too much. 

Sometimes I would just sit near a nurse that was having a difficult day. It became a kind of prayer in its own kind of way. And we just sat together. 


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