Covid-19, one year on: Louise Tristram
*Louise was alone in the non-clinical room when this mask free selfie was taken
To mark the one year anniversary of the pandemic, members of Team UHDB are sharing their thoughts and reflections of their personal and work lives during Covid-19.
The pandemic will have had a very different impact on each and every one of us, so the one year anniversary since we started to see the first inpatients admitted is a good opportunity to reflect on the year gone and to look forward.
Today, Louise Tristram, Senior Staff Nurse, who was redeployed to our Intensive Care Unit throughout the pandemic, has shared a reflective poem about what “one year on” means to her, which you can read below:
One year on and the world's a different place
What started slowly but then picked up pace.
Crowded places became vast empty shells
On the past we once had we start to dwell.
As a frontline worker we all stood to command
Ready to start this epic fight, hand in hand.
Donned in gowns, gloves, hats and masks
We had no choice but to take on this task.
The sights that we witness are just so damn sad
To see people drowning is there anything as bad.
Their body all swollen, tired and still
Who would have though this virus would kill?
It swept across the world, over land and sea
What started miles away, is now in front of me!
Nervous and scared about what’s to become
Just going to work is too much for some.
Never before have we seen anything like this
For our family and friends we all make a wish.
At the start of our shifts we all walk in together
Covered head to toe and go hell for leather.
Our eyes say it all as that’s all we can see
The tears keep flowing and this isn’t me.
Our patients are alone, no family to hold
Updating the loved ones, mostly bad news is told.
Some days are tough, the hardest of all
Exhausted, drained and almost to our knees we fall.
No time to rest as this battle goes on
We can’t stop till it’s over and we know we have won.
Social distancing, lockdowns, curfews and more
Our lives day to day are becoming a bore.
We are living an existence that seems to have no end
Whatsapps, facetimes and texts is all we can send.
What I’d do to give my parents a cuddle
To meet up with friends in our little huddle.
The world has become small, quiet and still
If only this could all end with one little pill.
A vaccine seems good, trialled and tested
A lot of time and effort had been invested.
This seems a step forward, a different path
Lets get started and do the Math.
Nearly one year on and many lives taken
All around the world people are shaken.
The numbers are falling, hospitals are clearing
Is this the end that we may be nearing?
I take a deep breath, hold my head up high
Push on to the end without a sigh.
One year on from when is all started
The pain we all suffered came keen and smarted
We are almost there, the tunnel is brighter
The weight is lifting and the days are lighter
As we now reflect at days in the past
We know today is better and now won’t forever last.
We are one year on and we’ve come a long way.
Advances in science, it’s amazing I say.
To the loved and lost, the young and the old
I give you my word we brought them into the fold.
It’s been a tough ride and at times too much
The people we’ve lost and the families we touch.
Amongst it all there are some happy endings
It takes time to heel but bodies are mending.
So as I reflect and try to digest
I know we fought hard and we did our best.
If you're part of #TeamUHDB and would like to take part in our One Year On campaign, you can post to social media using the #oneyearonUHDB hashtag, or send your photos, videos, poems, songs, reflections or ideas to uhdb.communications@nhs.net