Lache pas la patate

The title of this post is a Cajun French saying for "don't give up" and it's a testament to the resilient nature of Louisiana and her residents. Being as I am a native Louisianan, things like hurricanes and flooding are not new to me. When hurricane Katrina passed through and ravaged our great state, I was only about five years old at the time therefore I much too young to remember many details. During hurricane Ida, I got to witness first hand the resiliency of the residents of Louisiana as an adult. My family and I live in Baton Rouge and we were fortunate enough to not have to evacuate our apartment nor did we have any damage from Ida. I spent most of my time post-Ida at work in the ER helping the recovery efforts. Some of my other coworkers were not as fortunate as I who got to ride out the storm in my own home. Some of my coworkers were staying in the ER throughout the storm and some of the days following Ida. This is pretty typical for the disaster activation protocol, but what is not typical is these same employees who basically lived in the ER for three days to also continue to work the recovery period being as there is supposed to be team members assigned to relieve the ones who stayed during the disaster. For many nurses in the ER, they did not get to be relived from the job leaving them working 8-10 days of 12 hours shifts in a row. If you have never worked at a job that demands you to constantly move, lift, and stand for 12 hours then you may not understand the physical (and mental) exhaustion that comes after a 12 hour shift. The resiliency portrayed by some of my fellow coworkers is awe inspiring, but yet at the same time it was disheartening to see them so exhausted knowing that their was nothing I could do to help relieve being as I am not a registered nurse. This is the type of resiliency and perseverance it takes to reach my dream of becoming a doctor.  I am lucky enough to be surrounded by individuals who not only know how to work hard but also push me to work harder and be better for our patients. In today's work of instant gratification, I am privileged to be reminded by my coworkers and the people of Louisiana of what hard work with resiliency looks like.