Sara Wazlavek is afraid. She has every right to
be. She’s a nurse at Atlanta’s Northside Hospital. She worries every day about bringing
the Coronavirus home to her family.
Sara’s rights, however, are secondary to her unflinching
sense of duty. She reports to work every shift, does her job well, protects
herself and her family as best she can, goes home and hopes for the best.
She was featured recently on CNN as part of
World Health Day. Her story is emblematic of the hundreds of thousands of
nurses all over the world who are placing society’s needs ahead of their own, especially
in current hot spots such as New York City.
"No one wants to put their family's lives
on the line,” she told CNN. “I come home with the knowledge that I might be
bringing Covid into my home, that it could kill me, my husband or my kids. I
didn't think becoming a nurse would mean possibly losing my family, or that I
would be the cause."
Nevertheless, she persisted.
And we are thankful. No profession is fighting this battle more directly in harm's way. None.
Nurse Wazlavek explained her rationale for
persisting. "Not everyone can do this job," she said. “It takes training.
If everyone who was afraid quit, who would be left? What makes me so special
that I can stay home when others are putting their lives at risk? I want to
help my coworkers. I can't abandon them. I want to help the people in our
community who need us. I can't abandon them either."
Image of Nurse Sara (r) courtesy of CNN.