Guyanese nurse hailed for mental health support during stressful COVID pandemic period

Jul 23, 2023 News

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By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on the lives of people all around the world and even to date, continues to impact those that have been directly or indirectly affected by it. The global pandemic will be remembered in the annals of history like those that came before it, creating massive stress levels, uncertainty, fear, apprehension and sadly, numerous deaths in its aftermath.

Perhaps, some of those most affected by the pandemic would be those who were directly involved in the events that spawned from the epidemic. It would be safe to say that the responders to this catastrophe may not have only had a firsthand view of the effects of the illness, but a front row seat to the damage it was causing all around.

It was not just the amount of work that had to be put into keeping patients alive as the number of sick persons continued to skyrocket and health facilities continued to be overwhelmed. It was mostly the mental and emotional strain of constantly being around death and sorrow without having the tools to safeguard oneself in a situation that was not only ready to consume the sick but the caregivers as well.

This was the cry of doctors, nurses and other health care and safety workers around the world. The stories poured in about health care workers and first responders being overwhelmed by the number of patients they were losing on a daily basis and the mental difficulty they were facing in trying to keep it together. With them too being at risk of being affected by the illness, shortages at various health facilities and the lack of necessary support they required, it was clear that the health responders were taking a serious blow. For 69-year-old Maureen Chukwujindu, the situation was as real as it could get.

Working in the health field for over 46 years, the senior nurse had never experienced the horror and trauma that the pandemic was prepared to offer. She had left Guyana decades ago though the Durban Street native had never lost touch with her roots. She had worked at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital where she was also trained in her specific field of oncology, the care of cancer patients. The nurse who also operates in hospice care is based at what could be considered the public health care facility of Atlanta, Grady Memorial Hospital.

Chukwujindu said that generally, the Covid-19 period was extremely rough on everyone but for some reason the second bout of the illness between 2021 and 2022, brought on somewhat of a depression. She said health care workers, doctors and nurses grew increasingly stressed out and anxious. In her experience, some nurses did not know if they could have continued to make it to come to work. She said some, when they were finished working, would just sit in their cars as, “it became very overwhelming” and by that time she said, “the support for health workers was not the same as it was in the beginning.”

Chukwujindu explained that the effects of the pandemic was so great that everyone was affected and people seemed not to have the strength anymore to support each other and those who were working on the front line to save lives. “Society as it stands was very different; it was almost as if the pandemic had beaten everyone down so bad.”

The death toll, she said, continued to rise and workers were being greatly affected. Health workers were losing their family members like everyone else, but they were still expected to come to work and perform as they should. “They (nurses) had to put that grief aside and still come to work where they would face more death and sorrow,” Chukwujindu related. It was hard, she said, for the workers having to lose their loved ones and still having to come to work and face the death of other people and the sorrow attached to it. “It was just sadness all around,” the Georgia based nurse said, highlighting too that as much as the health workers would try to gather their emotions and mental strength, it became almost impossible to maintain their stability in such an environment.

“It was very overwhelming; everyone felt it, especially the younger nurses.”Chukwujindu said she too was feeling overwhelmed. She said she felt as if she was unable to continue with her work because of the pressure she felt from the emotional baggage that was now attached to her job during the pandemic. With more than three decades of the profession under her belt, Chukwujindu felt that it was her age taking its toll on her. She said she believed that maybe she was getting too old and needed to retire from her job. It was not until, the nurse said she attended a book signing event by Guyanese-born clinical psychotherapist, Shane Tull who authored the book the ‘Mental health pandemic’ post COVID that she realised that she was not isolated in her feelings and that there was a real mental health dilemma being faced by nurses and other healthcare workers within the COVID situation.

She said the book dealt with what herself and many other nurses were facing, a mental health crisis within the pandemic. It was there, at the signing, that other health workers started to pour out their hearts, highlighting their fears, concerns and the emotional pressure they were facing. Many of these health workers were suffering in silence as it was recognised that they were expected to do their work but had nowhere for them to seek the help they needed. During a question and answer segment, Chukwujindu said a young Guyanese nurse got up to express how overwhelmed and depressed she was about the situation and the anxiety she felt towards going to work. She said the nurse expressed the inability to go to work the next day because of how terrible she continued to feel.

It was then, Chukwujindu said she recognised that something had to be done. Being a veteran in the profession, she said she felt hurt for the young professionals and after the book signing went to speak with the young nurse as it became clear that what she (Chukwujindu) had been feeling was way bigger than her age and was being felt across the board. She said she recognised then that nurses thus needed to support each other as the facilities that previously extended certain aid to nurses were no longer available. That is when she said she decided to form the ‘You Are Not Alone’ (YANA) support group.

Chukwujindu said after her experience at the book signing she went back to her place of work and interviewed her colleagues who expressed a tremendous desire to have the specific support that the group sought to offer the health providers. Her co-workers were not hesitant to state their own concerns and difficulties.

It was a small group of nurses who found themselves on zoom chat once a week expressing their concerns, fears and experiences to each other. They shared their work experiences while offering each other the words of encouragement and the support they so desperately needed. Nurses were able to cry and let go, and breathe freely knowing that someone is there to listen, Chukwujindu said.

More than a year later, YANA has almost 20 members as word about the group started to spread. What is amazing, Chukwujindu highlighted is the fact that the group has surely become a staple for those involved as nurses from various backgrounds and countries have become involved and other professionals such as social workers have expressed interest in joining the support group. Chukwujindu recently celebrated her 69th birthday at a surprise birthday party where she was honoured by the numerous nurses who found solace in the support the group was providing at the time. Some of these nurses hailed from the US, Jamaica, Antigua and other Caribbean islands as well as some all the way in London expressing interest in joining the group.

Still in its infant stage, Chukwujindu expects YANA to continue to grow as the work they do is priceless to those who need it the most. The group will be expanding its means of support with programs and other activities they are expected to create. While the support group was created to address the issues of the pandemic, the membership continues to expand, addressing other issues that affect these essential health service providers.

Chukwujindu continues to frequent Guyana and often lends support in the areas where she can, for instance, donating cancer medication to local facilities.  Chukwujindu is a trustee at the non-profit Guyana Association of Georgia Inc. as she continues to represent her country and countrymen residing within Georgia. Chukwujindu is expected to extend the services of YANA to Guyana as she continues to create a supportive space for the essential workers within the healthcare field.

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• indelible, Maureen Chukwujindu, Nurse, period, Zena Henry

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