Annegret Pachner
Kulmbach, Germany
Operating room nurse
Germany District Governor-elect 2020-21
Kiwanis Club of Kulmbach 

Corona. I only knew it from the beverage store. 

But with this Corona, or COVID-19, we’re not talking about a drink but about a virus that has brought life all over the world to a standstill.

For me it was Friday, March 13, 2020. It so happens that I'm not superstitious, but I will remember that day forever.

I am 56 years old, and I’ve worked as an operating room nurse for 32 years. For over a year now, I have been in charge of the operating theater in Erfurt, and I supervise the nursing staff working in the operating theater and administering anesthesia.

Our clinic has seven operating theaters and two urological surgery rooms that are busier than ever. The number of operating rooms was reduced relatively quickly, and we only performed emergency operations and operations on tumor patients. Despite the tense situation caused by the virus, it was still relatively easy work.

But now we are working in all the operating rooms again, and it has gotten worse than before. My staff number is reduced daily, partly due to positive COVID-19 tests, partly due to other injuries. 

We’re working to the limit, thanklessly.

Wearing mouth and nose protection has become everyday life for us. But wearing FFP 2 and FFP 3, also known as PPE, brings us to the brink. And if we operate on a COVID-19 patient, we have to wear additional special protective clothing. We are not allowed to leave the operating room, so it’s impossible to take a sip or have a bite to eat.

The lack of understanding by many citizens makes me angry and sad at the same time. They think of themselves, not of others. 

We can’t change anything about the situation and will have to live with it for a long time.

Whether the vaccine will bring the hoped-for success — nobody can say.

Sticking together and not working against each other, only that takes us somewhere.

Stay healthy and take care of yourselves.

Aaron Salinas
Edinburg, Texas
Nurse practitioner
Kiwanis Club of Edinburg

Texas has been hit hard with COVID-19. In November, we became the first state to reach a million cases. In the Rio Grande Valley, we have seen our own sets of challenges as we continue to fight this pandemic. As a nurse practitioner, I have continued to provide patient care to the patients I serve, addressing their medical needs and their mental health needs as well.  

The pandemic has brought on many challenges to how we deliver patient care. One of the biggest challenges has been how we see and examine our patients. Traditional exams are face-to-face with close proximity, allowing the caregiver and patient to use body language to help with communication. Currently, we are seeing patients via telehealth (audio and video) and by phone, and on rare occasions we have them come in for a face-to-face consult. For a lot of us, this has been challenging, because seeing the patient’s overall appearance is an important part of our examination. 

Another one of the biggest challenges has been the limited resources to address my patients’ needs. I have seen patients who have lost loved ones, their jobs, their homes and the ability to pay for their medications and who are experiencing food insecurity. 

This pandemic has taught us many lessons. I think the biggest thing is that we must always be prepared for the unexpected. We must learn to work with others and be aware of the resources that we have available. 

I think the role we have as Kiwanians is amazing and we do a great job by supporting our cause and our mission. I would like Kiwanians to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better and we must continue to be hopeful. 

As a person and healthcare provider, I would like to remind everyone to practice safety and to continue to follow all CDC recommendations. 

Parsippany, New Jersey
First responder
Public safety telecommunicator
Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany

I became involved in emergency services when I was 16 when I joined the Parsippany Office of Emergency Management. I was an active member for more than eight years before switching to the elite technical rescue team — Parsippany Rescue & Recovery — two years ago. When I became involved as a volunteer in emergency services, I sparked a deep interest in emergency communications and became a police dispatcher.

I love making a difference in my community and always strive to put service above self. Volunteering and working in emergency services, I know I make a direct difference in the lives of others every day. 

The biggest challenge during the pandemic is keeping myself and my family safe. That is and continues to be my No. 1 priority. At the rescue squad, along with both of my essential jobs, we have established and continue to follow strict protocols when it comes to utilizing PPE. It may take us a little longer to respond, but safety is our top priority. The job of being a first responder is quite stressful. The pandemic has definitely added to that stress and slightly increased our call volume this year. We also now have to deeply sanitize our apparatus and gear after every call.

As a 911 dispatcher, I am now faced with asking more critical questions before I can send help to protect the first responders. People call 911 normally on the worst day of their life, such as a car accident, child or family member not breathing, domestic assault. As it is, we have a lot of critical information to gather and relay to first responders. And now due to the pandemic, we have even more questions to ask before we can send help.

After any high-risk rescue/EMS assistance call, I do not walk in to my house without changing my clothes first, even though I utilized all PPE. There have also been a handful of times I used a hotel for a shower before entering my home to be sure that I was fully clean and not bringing anything home to my loved ones. 

On top of keeping busy with being a first responder and my two essential jobs, I still make time to volunteer with both of my Kiwanis clubs by running much needed food drives, cooking for the local homeless shelters, planning and running socially distanced/virtual fundraisers, etc.  

Nothing stops us from continuing to help the community especially during the time of greatest need

Jessica Guild
Anchorage, Alaska
Mental health nurse
Kiwanis Club of Anchorage, Alaska 

I am honored to be part of the global COVID response team — fighting this pandemic one day at a time, boosting the mental health of my clients as well as my own.

As a psychiatric nurse, this pandemic has caused an influx of individuals dealing with mental illness. Mental health encompasses everyone at every point of life. It deals with psychological and emotional well-being, which contributes to overall physical health. One of the greatest lessons I have learned during this hardship is the power of self-care and focusing my time and attention on what matters most.

Our Kiwanis club has remained active to the best of our abilities with the ever-changing city mandates and safety measures. When the pandemic began, we were engaged in our capstone fundraiser as Keystone Kops for the winter Fur Rendezvous Festival. This festival leads into the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Our meetings changed from in-person to Zoom. In so doing, we have had the pleasure of being a part of interclub meetings with people all over the United States and a Kiwanis club in Jamaica. We have kept the high school Key Clubs involved in activities such as cleaning up roads, packaging food and activity supplies for rural communities partnered with Campfire, doing drive-by birthday caravans, collecting soda cans for recycling, performing our civic duty in helping voters with the adopt a precinct, collecting food items for Children’s Lunchbox, putting out flotation devices for Kids Don’t Float, preparing goodie bags for community members with disabilities with the Arc of Anchorage, promoting small business sales to aid families in these trying times and bell ringing for the Salvation Army. This pandemic may have altered the number of volunteer activities we would have liked to participate in; however, it has not exhausted our spirit of altruism. We continue to think outside the box and hope to serve in new and engaging ways.