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'I didn’t even know that I needed to cry': Nurses on front line honor COVID-19 patients who died
Alexis Mathews
Reporter
'I didn’t even know that I needed to cry': Nurses on front line honor COVID-19 patients who died
THEY LOST TO THE VIRUS. >> 29. THAT’S THE NUMBER OF ROCKS PLACED INSIDE A VASE OF WATER TO REPRESENT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO DIED OF COVID-19 IN ONE UNIT AT U OF L JEWISH HOSPITAL. >> WE LOST A PATIENT THIS MORNING. >> NURSES IN THE HOSPITAL’S SEVEN TOWERS UNIT HAVE BEEN COMFORTING PATIENTS SINCE MARCH. >> WE ARE HOLDING THEIR HANDS AS THEY TAKE A LAST BREATH. IT’S DEVASTATING. >> WATCHING THE FEAR GROW IN THEIR EYES WHEN THEY KNOW THEY HAVE COVID. >> THEY ARE HONORING THEM IN A ROCK-LAYING CEREMONY. ONE BY ONE, NURSES WROTE THE INITIALS OF PATIENTS THEY’VE LOST ON ROCKS. >> I DID NOT KNOW I NEEDED TO CRY SO MUCH. >> HOLDING HANDS AND EACH OTHER, THEY THEN PLACED THE ROCKS INSIDE THE VASE. >> WE ALL HAVE A STORY. AT LEAST ONE. >> AT THE END, THE WATER WAS POURED OVER PLANTS AT THE HOSPITAL. >> I JUST HOPE THEY FIND COMFORT AND KNOW THAT THEY WERE NOT ALONE WHEN THEY PASSED AWAY, THAT WE WERE WITH THEM EVERY LAST MINUTE. >> THE PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES MAY BE AT PEACE, BUT THE FIGHT CONTINUES ON A DAILY BASIS WITH A TEAM OF NURSES. >> USUALLY YOU GO HOME PHYSICALLY DRAINED, TIRED, BUT THIS IS THAT TIMES FIVE, YOU KNOW? SOMETIMES 10.
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'I didn’t even know that I needed to cry': Nurses on front line honor COVID-19 patients who died
Alexis Mathews
Reporter
A team of nurses in a COVID-19 unit at a Kentucky hospital came together for a ceremony to honor patients who died from complications of COVID-19. “There was one week where we lost a person every day," said Brittany Dawson, a CNA at UofL Health-Jewish Hospital in Louisville.Nurses gathered on a roof patio for a “rock cleansing ceremony,” writing the initials of patients they lost on a rock, saying a few words and placing the rocks inside a vase with water. At the end, a nurse poured the water over plants at the hospital. “I didn't even know that I needed to cry so much until that happened,” Dawson said.During the emotional ceremony, nurses held hands and comforted each other, much like they’ve done with patients suffering from COVID-19 since March.“We’re holding their hand as they take their last breath,” CNA Amber Stull said. “They don't have anybody. They're alone and you can see that they're alone and scared.”The nurses honored the patients for putting up a tough fight with the deadly virus and in many instances having to do so alone.Now, the nurses must continue their own daily fight as the pandemic continues and the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 climb.“It’s emotionally draining. We’re doing everything we can here,” said Shona Neal Smith, RN. “Usually you go home physically drained. This is that times five, sometimes 10.”Watch the video above to learn more.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

A team of nurses in a COVID-19 unit at a Kentucky hospital came together for a ceremony to honor patients who died from complications of COVID-19.

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“There was one week where we lost a person every day," said Brittany Dawson, a CNA at UofL Health-Jewish Hospital in Louisville.

Nurses gathered on a roof patio for a “rock cleansing ceremony,” writing the initials of patients they lost on a rock, saying a few words and placing the rocks inside a vase with water. At the end, a nurse poured the water over plants at the hospital.

“I didn't even know that I needed to cry so much until that happened,” Dawson said.

During the emotional ceremony, nurses held hands and comforted each other, much like they’ve done with patients suffering from COVID-19 since March.

“We’re holding their hand as they take their last breath,” CNA Amber Stull said. “They don't have anybody. They're alone and you can see that they're alone and scared.”

The nurses honored the patients for putting up a tough fight with the deadly virus and in many instances having to do so alone.

Now, the nurses must continue their own daily fight as the pandemic continues and the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 climb.

“It’s emotionally draining. We’re doing everything we can here,” said Shona Neal Smith, RN. “Usually you go home physically drained. This is that times five, sometimes 10.”

Watch the video above to learn more.