Behind PPE: the people in the pandemic
Estimated read time: 8 minutes
In April 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines were rolling out across the province, Philip from Calgary, Alberta, contracted the virus. When his condition worsened and at the advice of his family physician, Philip sought treatment at Peter Lougheed Centre, where he was admitted for 22 days. During what he describes as one of the worst periods of his life, Philip met Dr. Heather Patterson, who had been photographing patients and the hospital’s healthcare team.
Philip and Heather recently shared their experiences navigating the challenges of 2021, and how their friendship, which began because of COVID-19, isn’t defined by the virus.
How did 2021 start out for you?
Philip: At the beginning of 2021, my family was just settling into our new home. I was still working from home at the time and, like everybody else, I was looking forward to COVID being over. My family was taking precautions, but we weren’t afraid any of us would contract COVID.
Heather: While my experience as an emergency physician was similar to many other physicians facing the peak of the second wave, I also had the privilege of expanding my perspectives of the pandemic through an AHS-approved photography project. I started the project in November 2020, photographing on my days off. Early in 2021, the emergency departments were well staffed and I received a three-month clinical sabbatical to focus on my photography work. I photographed healthcare workers and non-clinical support team members, seeking to capture their resilience and exceptional teamwork. And while many spoke of a sense of personal vulnerability associated with the pandemic, there was also determination, adaptability and a hopefulness that came with vaccination. I felt pride in being part of this team—the physicians, nurses, lab staff, housekeeping staff, maintenance workers and everyone involved in providing patient care. I celebrated this team through my photography, and the perspectives I gained through photography helped me find moments of joy and kindness amidst the tragedy of the pandemic.
Philip, can you share a bit about your COVID experience?
Philip: One evening near the end of April 2021, I began experiencing COVID symptoms. It started off as a sore throat, but soon it progressed to a fever, headache and chills that wouldn’t go away. I spent about a week at home and assumed I’d recover there, but my family doctor finally sent me to the Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC) because I wasn’t doing well.
My wife, Claire, and I went to the hospital, where I assumed I would be given some antibiotics and oxygen, and then sent home. I wasn’t ready to hear I needed to be intubated. They kept me in the ICU overnight, and the next day, with my oxygen levels at 79 per cent, I was placed in a medically-induced coma and intubated for what we thought would be 3 to 5 days, but was actually 15 days. I was sent to the COVID recovery ward the day after I woke up, and 6 days later I was sent home for my long recovery.
Can you talk about the healthcare workers who helped you?
Philip: During my time in a coma, the volunteers in the PLC set up daily video calls with my family. While I wasn’t responsive or aware, this was still a great connection for Claire, my family and friends, who used the video calls to encourage me to wake up.
The hospital staff made a huge difference for me. The ER admitting doctor was the one to tell me I wasn’t holding onto oxygen levels and needed to be intubated. He asked if I had questions, and I said, “I have no questions. Just bring me out.” I knew full well he couldn’t commit to that, but his manner and the tone of his voice gave me confidence. I will never forget that for as long as I live. I didn’t have a whole lot at that point, but I did have trust in him.
How did you two meet?
Heather: My photography project began with a focus on capturing healthcare workers and support staff in the emergency room, COVID wards and the ICU. By April, I returned to my clinical work and was photographing on most of my days off. I met Philip on the day he arrived in the emergency department while being cared for by a colleague. I had just begun photographing patients and their families, following them throughout their clinical course. I never photographed a patient under my care and this distinction between my two roles—physician and photographer—allowed me, as a photographer, to take time to get to know people and understand their story on a different level. The day I met Philip, I was able to sit at his bedside, and take time to talk and share a small part of both of our COVID experiences.
Philip: When Heather came into the room that first day, camera around her neck, I thought she would take a quick photo and then I’d never see her again. I didn’t think anything would come of this photography project until after I woke up. But Heather’s friendship and the images she’s captured made such a difference in my healing and reconciling with what happened. It’s helped me get through this. Having Heather and Claire there during the process and after—we’ve been so blessed to have such a great friendship come out of such a horrible experience.
Philip, how did it feel to be discharged from the hospital?
Philip: Heather was there when I was discharged. I was probably discharged sooner than I should have been, but I was determined to push my way out of that hospital. I hadn’t seen my family in 3 weeks and I wanted to go home—I don’t think I was a very cooperative patient!
Heather: You were totally cooperative! You were just determined. Determined is different from difficult!
Philip: My family was waiting for me outside the PLC when they wheeled me out.
Heather: They had matching t-shirts and signs. It was an emotional experience to see them all waiting there for Philip to come out—the first time they had seen him in over three weeks. As a photographer, rather than a physician, I was more engaged with the whole family, and that day I was able to meet Phil’s parents, siblings and kids. I was welcomed into a small part of their journey as another person, not as a physician. What a privilege. I have learned so much from Philip and Claire—how being in the hospital, in critical care, impacted them and their lives. By allowing me to walk alongside them during Phil’s pandemic experience, they have inspired me to grow as a physician. It’s helped me consider how I can better provide support, compassion, empathy not just to the patient, but to the whole family.
Heather, what was it like for healthcare workers during the third and fourth waves of the pandemic?
Heather: I acknowledge that everyone experiences the pandemic differently, and I can only comment on my perspective. During the third wave, I again felt uncertainty and apprehension as I looked at how other countries were being affected. My sense of personal vulnerability was reignited, and I had many questions. We had our vaccines, but would they protect us against the new variants? How would our system respond to the increasing numbers of patients? Could I look forward to an end to the pandemic? I was exhausted.
However, for me, the fourth wave was the most difficult. I was often frustrated and angry, but also saddened by the protests outside the hospitals. It was a time with many conflicting emotions. I was committed to providing evidence-based, compassionate care to every patient but I also experienced and witnessed rude, disrespectful and verbally abusive behaviours directed at healthcare workers. The overlay of the complex social and political environment made it even more challenging.
It was during this time that once again photography allowed me to regain the perspective and energy I needed to persevere. I was reminded that everyone has a story, whether it’s a healthcare provider, or a patient that is vaccinated and immunocompromised, or a patient who is unvaccinated. My camera helped me focus on moments of empathy and kindness. Being able to step back and see through a different lens helped me appreciate the humanity, the teamwork and the hope in those around me, despite the challenges of each wave.
Philip: Heather was there they day they wheeled me out of the ICU, and when they wheeled me past the nurses’ station they were cheering and clapping. I looked at Heather and said, “I haven’t done anything to warrant this celebration!” and Heather said, “It’s not only for you. It’s also for them. It’s for everyone. They need to see you leave and to see the work they are doing is making a difference. They need to see they aren’t losing everyone.”
How have healthcare teams helped each other through this pandemic?
Heather: I think healthcare teams have shown support for each other in many ways: volunteering to work in harder-hit areas of the hospital, taking time to connect and check in after difficult cases, covering sick calls, celebrating successes together, buying coffee or snacks, and showing appreciation for each other.
While photography can’t capture all the ways we look out for one other, it did help me find moments of shared celebration, humour and connection, and the ways we interact with our patients. I believe that celebrating successes together, like Philip leaving the ICU, or birthdays in the hospital, connect us as humans in the pandemic and also give us moments of joy that inspire us to keep going. It’s seeing that people will recover, and seeing that we can still connect despite all the PPE that we’re wearing. There is strength in facing the pandemic together.
Heather, how do you respond to the distrust some have in science and medicine?
Heather: I teach my kids that we can’t change how people think or how people choose to act. Instead, we are responsible for our own actions and our own words. This is one of those scenarios.
I remain upset with the negative response of some people towards public health guidelines, vaccination, or medical care during the pandemic. But I don’t think telling people to think or behave a particular way is effective. I believe that physicians can effect change by living out our values, acting with integrity, and providing empathetic and compassionate care. I hope that an individual’s experience with the healthcare system will help them recognize that behind it all is a group of people who care about their community.
How will this experience and the relationship stick with you?
Philip: As someone experiencing long COVID, I am still on the path to recovery. I’ve worked to give back however I can, which has included participating in the AHS task force for long COVID, and speaking to healthcare organizations about my experience. I do want to say thank you to the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, PLC staff and specialists that have helped me along the way. You’ve saved my life.
Thanks, too, to Heather. This experience brought us together and made us closer friends than if we had met on the street. Our friendship isn’t defined by this experience, though.
Heather: I love that COVID doesn’t have to define it.
Heather Patterson is an emergency physician and photographer from Calgary. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she began photographing the pandemic response, giving an illuminating behind-the-scenes view of the real impact of the virus on patients and families, and the heroic frontline workers. In her upcoming photography book, Shadows and Light, she shares how, despite the seemingly never-ending cycle of new variants, she found hope and a renewed sense of purpose in the resilience of the human spirit and the inspiring fortitude of Canada’s pandemic heroes. Her work has been featured in Maclean’s, Calgary Herald, local and national media outlets, as well in medical publications. She continues to present at conferences and grand rounds across the country.
Credit for the images in this story goes to Dr. Heather Patterson. CPSA thanks Dr. Patterson for sharing her photos with us.