#PortraitsOfCourage

Leila (Nurse Navigator):
As an Oncology Nurse Navigator, I care for patients with breast cancer. First, let me start by humbly stating that my colleagues who are going toe to toe with #Covid-19 every day are the truly courageous ones.
1/13

All those working in the ICUs, EDs and #Covid floors: our doctors, nurses, therapists, patient care assistants, social workers, environmental service workers, lab technicians, radiology techs, clergy and all those I missed. It truly takes a village.
2/13

My patients are also courageous. Imagine being diagnosed with breast cancer during a pandemic. Patients with cancer or #Covid can have some things in common. Although some patients take their cancer in stride, for most, they can experience fear, anxiety and
3/13

a sense of a loss of control of their lives, & the diagnosis, like #Covid, comes out of left field. I am the first point of contact for patients w/ breast cancer, after they have been given their diagnosis, & usually before they have had “the cancer talk” with a physician.
4/13

I offer education, guidance and #support, a roadmap of sorts concerning their cancer. Now we must also talk about the additional hoops they must navigate during the pandemic: that they may or may not be allowed to have in-person support on any given day,
5/13

as our visitation rules change to match the fluctuating pandemic risk in the community, that they will be #Covid tested, perhaps more than once, and must quarantine leading up to surgeriy, that they may be in the waiting to go into surgery or getting chemotherapy…alone.
6/13

Snapchat is not a substitute. We know that incidences of depression and anxiety in the population at large have risen since the onset of the pandemic. Our mental well-being is highly correlated with having a support system and our ability to cope,
7/13

both to adjust creatively to life and ways to feel engaged. Much of what we love to do, is not a possibility right now. Research also shows that our neurotransmitters, or “feel good hormones” are released with physical contact, even close proximity to others lights us up.
8/13

So, we have cancer, a pandemic and limited ways to fill our cup: no live entertainment, no gym, diminished contact with family and/or friends and the inability to plan for the future. My patients feel the weight of all of this, as does the hospital staff, all staff.
9/13

We, the patients and staff, are tired. Still, I try and help folks cope by focusing on building their capacity to thrive; what can you do in this moment, versus the lack of control we are experiencing. On a good day, it can be a time of resilience and growth,
10/13

an unexpected discovery of the strength we didn’t know we had or a new hobby or interest. When we can manage to be present, it is still possible to find ourselves, maybe even an expanded version of ourselves.
11/13

In closing, I am so grateful that we finally have the vaccine. The light at the end of the tunnel, although distant, is in sight. I am volunteering to vaccinate people as my contribution to moving us forward.
12/13

To steal from Bee Ann:
#Gratefultobeanurse
#GratefulToHaveDrRabRazzakAsMyFriend

- Leila F. Woehrle, MBA, BSN, RN, HN-C (Breast Oncology Nurse Navigator, Board Certified Holistic Nurse- Cleveland, OH)

Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
-Miyamoto Musashi
13/13