By Alison Sullivan
“I’ve been a nurse for 19 years. This does not compare to anything we’ve gone through,” said Registered Nurse and Princeton resident Mary Aukstikalnis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aukstikalnis works at Marlborough Hospital. While she describes the situation as “much better now than it was last year,” things have been intensely strenuous not only for her and her colleagues, but for her patients.
“The loneliness and isolation that these people feel is just so sad, it’s heartbreaking. The loneliness is just horrible and it really takes a toll not only on them but on us,” Aukstikalnis said. “…People would die and our voices and our touch were the last things that they’d hear or feel. The only comforting thing we can say to the families is they were not alone, we were making them feel comfortable to the very end.”
The nurses, healthcare workers, and hospital staff grew so much closer through their heroic work to combat COVID, and Aukstikalnis wanted to do something nice to celebrate them.
“We relied on each other so much,” she said. “I felt like I needed to do something to solidify us all, so we started taking pictures of each other, everybody in their gear, everybody together trying to find happiness amidst all this sadness, and stress, and pain we’re all going through…I wanted everybody to know how much care everybody was giving to these people.”
Aukstikalnis compiled these photos in a video that she calls “COVID Eyes,” and shared it with her colleagues. “Everybody seemed to love it, and a lot of people started tearing up.”
Not only did Aukstikalnis deal with COVID in her professional life, but in her personal life when her infant granddaughter contracted the virus. The six-month-old, who is “happy and healthy now, thank God,” spent four days in the hospital, according to Aukstikalnis.
With declining COVID rates, increased personal protective equipment, and an increasingly successful vaccine rollout, Aukstikalnis said things are improving, and she is able to start to reflect on what a difficult year this has been.
“You look back and it was such a stressful time,” she said. “We had staff that were getting sick, people doing doubles, extra time, over time. You have to worry about your family, and ‘Am I being clean enough? Am I bringing it home to my family?’…It was a very, very stressful time. I do have to say that it’s better now.”