Two Breda natives spent 21 days in New York City, working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sisters and nurses, Chelsie and Mackensie Riedell got back last Thursday and are now riding out their quarantines; Chelsie in Breda and Mackensie at her home in Des Moines. Chelsie, who was assigned to a nursing facility/rehab center, says by the time they left, the crisis situation was over, but other concerns remained.
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Mackensie says it is hard to tell what will happen, but some of the doctors she worked with at an emergency room were definitely anticipating a second wave. Chelsie says they didn’t know what to expect going into this, but arriving at the nursing facility was eye opening and the language barriers were one of the biggest hurdles to overcome; not only with staff, but with residents as well. And although they had to put in many long days, at least 12 hours, and Mackensie had to spend even more time on the road, commuting 45 minutes each way, she says there were some special moments too.
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Mackensie says things had calmed some prior to the arrival and though they were still on their feet, running and tending to patients all day, they did not see the same thing as those working weeks before. And, she says, 80 percent of staff members came from an agency because the majority of the regular staff were either sick or got burned out and quit.
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Chelsie had been to New York on an eighth-grade trip, but this was a much different city than she remembered.
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Now that they are home and dealing with Iowa just nearing the peak, they have some words of advice based on what they lived through. Chelsie says the basics remain so important, social distancing, masking if you can’t do that, washing your hands and using hand sanitizer if washing is not an option. Chelsie pointed out she had seen something disturbing when a woman wearing gloves touched things, and then touched her child’s face. Mackensie says this is really a demonstration of the misinterpreting of measures that are needed to help stop the spread.
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And even after all they have seen, heard and felt during their 21-day experience, there was no hesitation at all when the sisters were asked if they would do it again—both said definitely. A link to the full interview with Chelsie and Mackensie can be found below.
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Full interview with Chelsie and Mackensie Riedell: https://www.1380kcim.com/episode/kcim-interview-chelsea-mackenzie-riedell/