MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mid-South nurse is pleading with residents to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously, because she’s seen what happens if you don’t.
Elizabeth Cromwell, 28, went to New York City in April to take a temporary job treating COVID-19 patients in the hospital.
“There was a huge call for nurses to come up,” Cromwell said.
And Cromwell wasn’t afraid to answer, largely because she’d been on the road before.
“My first instinct was, of course, I got to be up there,” Cromwell said, “That’s what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s why I became a nurse. That’s why I took the oath. That’s why I got in the program.”
She started in mid-April and worked for 21 days straight, caring for patients who weren’t considered critical.
“It was still horrible. It was still 102, 103 fevers the Tylenol couldn’t touch. I mean, we give them Tylenol on the clock and ice packs, and it doesn’t go down. It’s insane. I’ve never seen that before,” Cromwell said.
Now, the Shelby County resident can’t believe what she’s seeing back here at home.
“I don’t think people are taking it as seriously as they should be,” she said, “I don’t think people are wearing masks like they should be. I don’t think they’re social distancing like they should be… Sometimes, I’m the only person wearing a mask like in Target and in the grocery store.”
Hundreds of new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Shelby County just in the last few days. Cromwell’s not surprised and says we all have to follow the safety guidelines in place if we want things to get better.
“I don’t say it to scare people because I don’t think we should live in fear,” Cromwell said, “But I think we should take into consideration that there are people that are elderly and immune-compromised and there are people who won’t survive COVID if they get it. They absolutely won’t.”