So long…farewell 2020

2020…did I expect any of this last year when I toasted my glass of champagne at midnight? Or rather 10p.m… because after decades of sleepless nights both in and out of the hospital, my bedtime is 9:05pm. The answer is no. This year changed everything—my profession as an ICU doctor, my role as a mom, my friendships, and the thin threads of social fabric I had maintained. My life was already a house of cards and a global viral pandemic sent it tumbling to the ground. My universe imploded inward—I became my children’s preschool teacher, my nights were spent reading every word printed in the medical literature on COVID and joining every Zoom meeting with international experts in my field of pediatric critical care, and I still had to function every single day in my role as an ICU doctor. I can honestly say that after almost a year of living under the cloak of SARS-CoV-2, we as a group of healthcare providers gained fortitude…we as moms gained patience…we as a world learned to offer one another a portion more grace. Grace…Patience…Fortitude…Repeat.