The phone conversation with Amy is short.
It has to be. She has COVID-19 and conversations more than a few minutes long leave her struggling to breathe. Even showering and brushing her teeth wears her out.
You can hear her voice quiver with discomfort as she discusses her situation and how she’s tried to make the best of it.
Amy is a Burnaby resident and registered nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital who was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the end of March and ended up in hospital herself for a few days. (We’ve agreed to not print her last name for privacy reasons.)
“It’s humbling and frustrating all at the same time,” Amy told the NOW about having to self-isolate and struggle with this terrible virus.
One thing that is frustrating is not being able to help patients in her job as an RN during this crisis.
She’s trained to save lives and now she’s just trying to save her own. But that doesn’t mean she still can’t help others.
Amy sent out a call to her friends and family to drop by her home and tie a ribbon to the tree in her front yard as a way of keeping up her spirits.
"I chose a tree because trees represent life and growth,” Amy said. “It also gets people outside even if it’s just momentarily. Fresh air and nature are imperative to our sense of well-being.”
She asked those who tied a ribbon to take a photo of it and send it to her. She’s received ribbon pics from local family, friends, neighbours and random strangers. Even people as far away as Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S. have sent pictures in.
Amy also pledged to donate money for every ribbon tied and pic sent. Well, things “exploded” and now she is donating $6,400 from her own savings to such organizations Burnaby Hospital Foundation and Care Canada's COVID-19 relief fund, which works to empower women and girls around the world.
Amy struggles to discuss the project because she wants to deflect things off of herself.
“This is not about me,” she said. “This about overcoming adversity, gratitude, coming together and giving back.”
Amy also wants to give back to those who helped her when she suddenly became a patient.
“Being a patient has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” Amy said. “I am immensely grateful to the first responders, nurses and doctors that cared for me. I am also grateful to those helping keep society running smoothly - i.e., grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, truck drivers, pharmacists, mail delivery personnel.”
Amy is no longer asking people to tie ribbons. Instead, she hopes people will come up with their own ways to give back during this crisis.
