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ICU nurse shares experiences on COVID-19 frontline, losing her father to the virus

"Within just a few hours he had gone from talking and being alert, to not only being intubated in a rotoprone bed, he was now in multi organ failure," Fairchild said.

ICU nurse shares experiences on COVID-19 frontline, losing her father to the virus

"Within just a few hours he had gone from talking and being alert, to not only being intubated in a rotoprone bed, he was now in multi organ failure," Fairchild said.

ISN’T ENDING ANYTIME SOON. >> I’VE HAD PATIENTS THAT HAVE BEGGED ME NOT TO LEAVE THEM BY THEMSELVES. THEY DON’T WANT TO DIE ALONE. HELENA: LINDSEY FAIRCHILD IS LIVING BOTH SIDES OF A HEARTBREAKING STORY. BORN AND RAISED IN CINCINNATI, SHE NOW WORKS AS A CRITICAL CARE ICU NURSE IN DAYTONA, FLORIDA, TENDING TO THE SICKEST COVID PATIENTS DAY AFTER DAY. SHE ALSO WATCHED HER OWN FATHER SLOWLY SUCCUMB TO THE VIRUS. WITHIN A FEW HOURS, HE HAD GONE FROM TALKING AND BEING ALERT TO NOT ONLY BEING INTUBATED, BUT IN MULTIORGAN FAILURE. HELENA: FAIRCHILD SAYS HER FATHER, WAYNE ONEY, WAS 69-YEARS-OLD. ONEY HAD ASTHMA AND DIABETES BUT NEITHER CONDITION WAS SEVERE HE SPENT 26 DAYS IN THE ICU, WHERE WHERE HIS PROGNOSIS PROGRESSIVELY WORSENED. FAIRCHILD MADE THE TRIP TO ATRIUM MEDICAL CENTER IN MIDDLETOWN DURING HIS FINAL DAYS. ALL SHE COULD DO WAS HOLD HER HAND UP TO THE GLASS, AS TWO NURSES SAT AT HER FATHER’S BEDSIDE FOR HOURS UNTIL HE PASSED. >> THERE IS SOME BEAUTY TO BE FOUND IN IT. THOSE NURSES, WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH, WHAT THEY ARE DOING, IT IS HEARTBREAKING. HOW COMPASSIONATE OF THEM TO DO THAT FOR HIM, FOR ME, FOR US. FOR OUR FAMILY. HELENA: FAIRCHILD FEELS FOR THOSE NURSES BECAUSE SHE IS ONE OF THEM. THE HOSPITAL WHERE SHE WORKS HAS HIT MAX CAPACITY. >> PATIENT GOES IN A ROOM, THEY EITHER GET BETTER AND GO HOME, OR THEY PASS AWAY AND CLEAN THE ROOM, AND THE NEXT ONE COMES THROUGH THE DOOR. HELENA: SHE SAYS STAFFING HAS BECOME AN ISSUE DUE TO THE HIGH NUMBER OF CRITICAL PATIENTS. MANY NURSES ALSO CHOOSING TO STEP AWAY DUE TO THE EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL TOLL THE JOB HAS TAKEN. >> WE ARE NOT TAKING LUNCH BREAKS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR PATIENTS DON’T PASS AWAY WHEN WE WERE OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR. HELENA: SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO TAKE THE VIRUS SERIOUSLY BECAUSE THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T MAKE IT AREN’T SIMPLY A STATISTIC. >> THAT’S A HUMAN BEING THAT HAD A LIFE. THEY HAD A FAMILY. A COMMUNITY THAT THEY LIVED IN. FRIENDS, INTERESTS, HOBBIES. THEY ARE NOT JUST NUMBERS. THEY ARE PEOPLE. HELENA: DURING ONE OF GOVERNOR DEWINE’S RECENT COVID-19 BRIEFINGS, ONE DOCTOR COMMENTED, ICU BEDS ARE THE AREA OF CAPACITY WHERE HOSPITALS ARE SEEING THE BIGGEST STRAIN, STATEWIDE. FAIRCHILD SAYS THE TYPICAL ICU RATIO AT HER HOSPITAL IS 3 PATIENTS TO ONE NURSE. NOW, IT’S ONE PATIENT TO ONE NURSE, BECAUSE EACH PATIENT IS SO CRITICAL AND REQUIRES THAT ONE ON ONE CARE. REPORT
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ICU nurse shares experiences on COVID-19 frontline, losing her father to the virus

"Within just a few hours he had gone from talking and being alert, to not only being intubated in a rotoprone bed, he was now in multi organ failure," Fairchild said.

Lindsey Fairchild is living both sides of a heartbreaking story. Born and raised in Cincinnati, she now works as a critical care ICU nurse in Daytona, Florida, tending to the sickest COVID-19 patients day after day."I've had patients that have begged me, 'Please don't leave me in here by myself. I don't want to die in here alone,'" Fairchild said.She also watched her own father slowly succumb to the virus."Within just a few hours he had gone from talking and being alert, to not only being intubated in a rotoprone bed, he was now in multi-organ failure," Fairchild said.Fairchild's father, Wayne Oney, was 69 years old.Oney had asthma and diabetes, but neither condition was severe.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 spent 26 days in the ICU where his prognosis progressively worsened.Fairchild made the trip to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, Ohio, during his final days.All she could do was hold her hand up to the glass, as two nurses sat at her father's bedside for hours until he passed."There is some beauty to be found in it too because, those two nurses, you know, what they're going through and what they're doing, it's heartbreaking, but how compassionate of them to do that for him, and for me, and for us you know? For our family?" Fairchild said.Fairchild feels for those nurses because she is one of them.The hospital where she works has hit max capacity."A patient goes in a room and they either get better and go home or they pass away and they clean the room and the next one is already ready to come through the door," Fairchild said.She said staffing has become an issue due to the high number of critical patients.Many nurses are also choosing to step away due to the emotional and physical toll the job has taken."We're not taking lunch breaks because we don't want our patients to pass away while we're outside the door," Fairchild said.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 wants people to take the virus seriously, because the thousands of people who didn't make it aren't simply a statistic."That's a human being that had a life, that had a family that had community they lived in, and friends and interests and hobbies, like they're not just numbers, they're people," Fairchild said.

Lindsey Fairchild is living both sides of a heartbreaking story.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, she now works as a critical care ICU nurse in Daytona, Florida, tending to the sickest COVID-19 patients day after day.

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"I've had patients that have begged me, 'Please don't leave me in here by myself. I don't want to die in here alone,'" Fairchild said.

She also watched her own father slowly succumb to the virus.

"Within just a few hours he had gone from talking and being alert, to not only being intubated in a rotoprone bed, he was now in multi-organ failure," Fairchild said.

Fairchild's father, Wayne Oney, was 69 years old.

Oney had asthma and diabetes, but neither condition was severe.

He spent 26 days in the ICU where his prognosis progressively worsened.

Fairchild made the trip to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, Ohio, during his final days.

All she could do was hold her hand up to the glass, as two nurses sat at her father's bedside for hours until he passed.

"There is some beauty to be found in it too because, those two nurses, you know, what they're going through and what they're doing, it's heartbreaking, but how compassionate of them to do that for him, and for me, and for us you know? For our family?" Fairchild said.

Fairchild feels for those nurses because she is one of them.

The hospital where she works has hit max capacity.

"A patient goes in a room and they either get better and go home or they pass away and they clean the room and the next one is already ready to come through the door," Fairchild said.

She said staffing has become an issue due to the high number of critical patients.

Many nurses are also choosing to step away due to the emotional and physical toll the job has taken.

"We're not taking lunch breaks because we don't want our patients to pass away while we're outside the door," Fairchild said.

She wants people to take the virus seriously, because the thousands of people who didn't make it aren't simply a statistic.

"That's a human being that had a life, that had a family that had community they lived in, and friends and interests and hobbies, like they're not just numbers, they're people," Fairchild said.