Thank you . . . from all of us

Image of Nick Seebruch
By Nick Seebruch
Thank you . . . from all of us
COVID-19 screeners at the CCH. Submitted photo.

For the past six weeks, whenever you go out for a walk or a drive, you see very few people out on the roads. If you take a trip down main street, you see many shops that are closed. On social media, you can see many who are getting more than a little restless being at home for so long and not seeing anyone.

All of this, is to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and save as many lives as possible. This is what we must do to do our part, stay home, keep social distance from others, and continue on the best we can. Really, that’s it for the average person. Stay home, do your best.

There have been some who have called the fight against COVID-19 a war, well, me, like you, and most of the people you know, are literally on the home front. Like in previous wars, we all have to do our part. Unlike in previous wars though, we aren’t being asked to ration our food, or hide in a cramped bunker. We just have to stay home, and we are doing that to help the people on the frontlines.

In this war, if we are going to continue with that analogy, those on the frontlines are not soldiers with guns, but doctors, nurses, PSWs, paramedics, police officers, grocery store employees, truck drivers and more.
We are staying home to keep them safe and make their job easier.

This week’s edition of the Cornwall Seaway News is a tribute to those frontline workers. I have spent the last few weeks talking to many of them. A common response from each of them, whether they be a PSW, a nurse, or even a delivery driver, is that they were surprised that Seaway News wanted to learn their story and were grateful for the thanks they were receiving from the community.

From staff members at the Cornwall Community Hospital, you hear sentiments like “So proud to help the community through this,” “I feel like am a making a difference and that my role is important,” and “I am enjoying my work; helping people get better so they can go home feels like important work.”

These are just some examples of what a frontline worker is experiencing at the Cornwall Community Hospital.
Maureen Froats, a nurse with 34 years of experience is currently working at Carefor Hospice Cornwall. Hospice provides comfort and care to their patients and their patients families during the most difficult time in their lives.

Social distancing and the pandemic have meant that Maureen’s job has changed a little bit.

One of the hardest things about the pandemic for patients at Hospice is that their number of visitors has been limited. Nurses like Maureen have to do the best they can to fill that void whenever possible. Maureen knows that it isn’t the same, but she said she was proud to do what she could for her patients and their families during this time.

Whether they be a paramedic giving an at home COVID-19 test, or a nurse caring for a COVID-19 patient in the ICU, or a grocery store clerk interacting with hundreds of people every day who need food, all of these frontline workers are going out and doing their jobs so the rest of us can live as normal lives as possible.

We, the rest of the populace, have been told over, and over again that the safest thing we can do is to stay home, but some of us cannot do that. Some of us have to go out, into work, and interact directly with the realities COVID-19 pandemic everyday so that the rest of us can stay at home where it is safe.

The Cornwall Seaway News thanks all of our frontline workers. We know that there are many, too many to feature here, but we thank you all for what you have done.

If you know a frontline worker who has made a difference to you or our community during this pandemic, email me a Letter to the Editor at nseebruch@seawaynews.media

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