Snovid 2021

Yup, I said it. I used that play on words. Because, well, it applied. Yesterday I began sharing about the snow storm that hit our area in February of 2021. In making it through 2020 in Nashville many of us (myself included) thought the worst was over. Surely we would now have easier days ahead. In many ways we have. February 2021 would be a... Different time.

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The forecast had called for snow and ice. It looked like it would be accurate. If you are not from the South you may not be aware we do not have a ton of winter weather equipment to keep the cities moving. We have some, sure. We have salt. We have plows. We have all manner of vehicles and devices for snow. What we do not have are enough of them to clear it all in a bad storm. You see, the storm we had this year is a once in five years storm. We legitimately rarely have these but about every five years or so. Often when these happen the populace is advised to stay off the roads, schools are closed to keep students and staff safe, and those that can absolutely do stay home and Netflix and cocoa (or whatever you do with your Netflix or other streaming service, no judgement). For me and my colleagues? Well... We can't.

No, I am not in bedside care. I am not a nurse. I am a pharmacy technician. I make IVs and chemotherapy. The medications I make help the patients get better. They are essential to care, therefore, we are also essential personnel. So when the storm started Sunday a couple of colleagues and I split a hotel room close to work so we could make sure to report for our shifts on Monday morning. I had packed a go bag in case of getting stuck at work during a surge in the pandemic almost a year previously. It was still in my car. It contained three days of scrubs, underwear (important!), medication, and toiletries. At the time I thought it sort of silly but that week? I was super glad I had it.

Yeah, mine looked nothing like that. I used what I had on hand.

It was a purple tote bag monogrammed with my initials because... #southern.

My colleagues and I went to bed that evening after watching some of the snow start to come down from our hotel room window. It faced 19th and West End. It was better entertainment than cable for sure. We began cheering vehicles on that almost spun out and recovered. We watched the parade of brave souls run up and down West End with anticipation of a fender bender or their getting stuck. And we knew, if the storm was to be as bad as expected, we would see episode two tomorrow.

Photo credit W Robinson

Our view at 19th and West End, we were not very high up.

Yes, that truck parked up on the sign. We think he gave up.

We set our alarms for early the next morning, earlier than usual. We knew we might need to come in before our normal time. We got up, scrubbed up, bundled up, and headed downstairs. When we walked out of the elevator in the lobby the night desk clerk looked up. I am sure he saw three women wrapped up like some bizarre group of abominable snowmen. He told us to be careful on the roads. We laughed and said, "Oh no! We're walking." His face was priceless. He said, "WHERE?" We told him who we were and where we were going. He advised us to stay warm, which we had every intention of.

Yup, it was early, it was cold, and it was sleeting.

Time to walk to work!

One of the girls had made it to a Dollar General earlier in the day before coming to the hotel the night before. She had picked up those shake and warm Hot Hands packets for us. We were very grateful. Any bit of warmth helped. Us Southerners are not used to these type of temperatures. We did not have a room reserved for that night as we weren't sure the last night the storm would actually materialize. So we had to hump all our stuff with us. My purple tote bag that served as my go bag was shoulder strapped. I was so layered and bundled up I barely could keep it on my shoulder as we walked. My friend I wanted to be like when I grow up? Yeah she had a back pack. It had no problem staying on her back as we trudged. She is so smart. PS - I also now have a backpack.

As we trudged through the snow that was several inches deep in most places I thanked her profusely for the borrowed boots. My sneakers I had would not have sufficed. We made it safely to work and tried to unlayer. The whiteboard we have in the department where we put notices and announcements up was slowly filling up with staff that was unable to report for their shift. My colleague jokingly scribbled. "Staff here:" and the few names we had present. Our boss had come in during the night due to short staffing and he was still there and tired. We jumped in, tried to help him catch up and get the day started. When we reached a breathing moment we ran downstairs to grab some food from the cafeteria. None of us had eaten because it was too early for the continental breakfast and the small shoppette the hotel had was pretty empty. Fortunately some of our nutrition staff had made it in.

We ate quickly and dove back in. What followed was a week of short staffing but team work. My colleagues and I ended up staying in the hotel for five nights. The snow kept coming and it would not melt and go away. It never got warm enough and the sun did not shine enough. We came in early, we stayed late, we worked functions we wouldn't normally work, all to keep the department running. And we were tired but content that we could help. When we would return to our room we would shower, change, and eat. Our diet was not the best that week. Our choices were slim. We ate what we could from the shoppette (like Hot Pockets) or grab and go sandwiches we picked up from the cafeteria. Fortunately the hotel and the hospital had coffee so I survived. We call coffee oxygen in our house. It is an essential part of life. After that it was lights out to try to sleep and do it all again.

Photo credit W Robinson

Fun fact... The hotel's outdoor pool was heated and open during our stay.

I never saw anyone take advantage.

My husband, our youngest, and our pups were at home during this time. I was grateful they were safe and warm but missed them terribly. I had never been away from our pups this long. My husband was good to send me pictures and updates of home. He sent me a photo of our pups standing in the back doorway with their noses sniffing the air. They were looking very suspiciously at the six inches of snow that had accumulated there. The caption included was, "WTF is that daddy?"

I also received a video of our neighbors sledding. Well, if you can call it sledding. They got on a flat surface and zoomed down our hill. Three people on a plastic folding table and then one lady on an igloo cooler with handle and wheels. It was reported no one wiped out and all made it safely down and back up. In the South you have to use some redneck ingenuity sometimes to participate. On the news we saw people in other neighborhoods sledding with cookie sheets, trash can lids, and cardboard boxes. They may not have been the best quality sleds but the smiles we saw sure were the best.

Our local ABC affiliate kept the directions simple,

just STAY OFF THE ROAD

Remember I said my go bag had three days worth of supplies? Yeah, three. Not five. I ran out of clean underwear, undershirts, and scrubs. My colleagues also ran out of things we could not get from our central supply department at work. They had soap and shampoo but the only underwear available were the mesh panties given to new moms post birth. Don't get me wrong, when I had my daughter and wore those I loved them but I was not postpartum and had little desire to take them for a spin again. My colleague decided to brave the close roads on Wednesday and try to get to any store that might have finally opened up. Most had remained closed the entire time, not that I blame them.

I worked the snowpocolypse of 2021 and all I got was this

really awesome t-shirt!

She managed to get to a Piggly Wiggly and then a Walgreens. I had asked her if she found an open store to grab me a t-shirt and clean underwear. She found a clean shirt for me at the Piggly Wiggly. She also picked up some food stuffs for our room. I still have the shirt. It makes me smile. Angels started singing when she found clean underwear at the Walgreens. Clean underwear for everyone! As for the scrub situation, I stole them. Ok, not really. I got permission to borrow some from our joint replacement institute that keeps them for surgical staff. They were the wrong color for my department but they were clean and serviceable. And everyone knew we had been there all week so no one said a word about the color change.

My borrowed scrubs

My friend that had the extra scrubs in her truck and locker and hoped not to use them? She ended up using them but like me, she was glad she had them. She had left the key to the locker at her home but fortunately maintenance had a set of bolt cutters and they were able to open the locker for her. A new lock was a small price to pay for clean clothes that week.

The week was not all bad, for sure. We came together, we got the work done, we got the patients taken care of without compromising quality or safety. I was proud of us. It was long, it was tiring, and it was uncertain, but it was an experience I will never forget. Tell me about a time you had an experience you will never forget. Or brag on yourself for going above and beyond. I want to hear about it! These type of stories give me hope for the human race.

Be well, y'all.

This is my current go bag and yes it is a backpack: https://amzn.to/3q18RDr

These are some funny patches for said go bag a friend gifted me: https://amzn.to/2SnKlQx

I wear Cherokee Workwear scrubs, you can see their offerings here: https://amzn.to/3czmG6r

If you liked my borrowed boots, you can see a similar pair here: https://amzn.to/3cGr83n

Clean underwear! https://amzn.to/3zotWfa

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