NEENAH/APPLETON (WGBA) -- Monica Bayer had just showed up to work for another 12 hours helping COVID patients in the ICU.
"You read about it or you watch movies about it but you never think it is going to happen to you," Bayer said referring the on-going pandemic.
There are a combined 80 cases of COVID-19 in Winnebago and Outagamie counties. Due to patient privacy, ThedaCare did not want to release how many patients are in the ICU. Bayer, however, is helping those patients through a difficult time full of uncertainty.
"The hardest part for us is we can't rush right into the room when someone needs help right away," Bayer said. "We have to make sure we are wearing our PPE and staying safe."
PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment. Bayer wears a lot of it. From head to toe she is covered in gear designed to help prevent the spread of disease. It is another sign that COVID-19 is highly contagious.
"I was my hands over 100 times a day," she said.
Bayer decided to become a nurse after watching others take care of her Grandfather who passed away recently. She finished school in December. Her first couple months on the job have been about caring for patients with the coronavirus.
"I definitely did not think this was going to happen when I graduated," she said.
Regardless, she takes enormous pride in her work. She says seeing people overcome the disease makes her hopeful it will end soon.
"Being able to tell people their test comes back negative and see the look on their face is a feeling I can't describe."
