Early in the pandemic, medical personnel were our front lines. What was that like? Through stories, art, and poetry, Canadian health-care workers from across the country recount their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contributors to The COVID Journals share the determination and fear they felt as they watched the crisis unfold, giving us an inside view of their lives at a time when care itself was redefined from moment to moment. Their narratives, at turns tender, angry, curious, and sometimes even joyful, highlight challenges and satisfactions that people will continue to explore and make sense of for years to come.
Contributors: Ewan Affleck, Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif, Manisha Bharadia, Christopher Blake, Candace de Taeye, Arundhati Dhara, Paul Dhillon, Liam Durcan, Monika Dutt, Sarah Fraser, David Gratzer, Jillian Horton, Andrew Howe, Monica Kidd, Jaime Lenet, Pam Lenkov, Suzanne Lilker, Jennifer Moore, Shane Neilson, Kacper Niburski, Elizabeth Niedra, Margaret Nowaczyk, Tolu Oloruntoba, Rory O’Sullivan, Jordan Pelc, Nick Pimlott, Angela E. Simmonds, Tanas Sylliboy, Helen Tang, Bobby Taylor, Tharshika Thangarasa, Diana Toubassi, Shan Wang, Marisa Webster, Chadwick Williams, Dolly Williams, Jiameng Xu.
ix Preface 1 Fight or Flight: The Ambivalent Health-Care Heroes of Pandemic Response, Canadian Edition | SHANE NEILSON 18 Uncertainty | PAUL DHILLON 22 The Sum of All Fears | TOLU OLORUNTOBA 26 A Journal of the Plague Year 2020 | NICK PIMLOTT 42 What I Will Not Doff | DIANA TOUBASSI 47 Workday | THARSHIKA THANGARASA 50 A Mask | MONICA KIDD 52 Facing the Unknown: Apprehensive, Overwhelmed, and Helpless | SHAN WANG 61 On Pandemic and Uselessness | JAIME LENET 67 Pandemic | JORDAN PELC 68 Prescription for Water | JIAMENG XU 70 Palliative Care | THARSHIKA THANGARASA 71 My So-Called COVID Life | JENNIFER MOORE 79 Pulling Strings | MONIKA DUTT 85 Disembodied” An Examination of the Examination in a Pandemic | LIAM DURCAN 93 Same But Different | DAVID GRATZER 97 I’m No Hero | SUZANNE LILKER 100 Sidelined | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 101 Behind the Front Line: (Or, the COVID Experience That Never Was) | RORY O’SULLIVAN 108 Singularity | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 109 With Beauty | KACPER NIBURSKI 114 Management Was Mad | SARAH FRASER 116 Preoccupations of a Public Health Resident | MARISA WEBSTER 119 Bongo Guy in Lockdown | CHRISTOPHER BLAKE 125 Mango Season | ARUNDHATI DHARA 132 Solidarity | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 133 I Am Letting Myself Go (Or, Humans of Late COVID) | ELIZABETH NIEDRA 136 Life and Death in Denendeh | EWAN AFFLECK 144 Jipasi na’sɨk melkitai | TANAS SYLLIBOY 145 In the ER, Patients Need My Comfort But I Am Scared to Give It | SARAH-TAÏSSIR BENCHARIF 149 Vicissitude | PAM LENKOV 152 Connection | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 153 What Was Missing | MARGARET NOWACZYK 162 A Family History in 2 Pandemics, 4 Infections, and 102 Years | JILLIAN HORTON 165 Endurance | MANISHA BHARADIA 167 Blowing Smoke in Your Ear | ANDREW HOWE, ANGELA SIMMONDS, BOBBY TAYLOR, and DOLLY WILLIAMS; facilitated by ARUNDHATI DHARA and CHADWICK WILLIAMS 185 It’s Hard Not to Slam a Fist on the Table When the Finish Line Keeps Lurching Further Ahead, or, Third Wave | CANDACE DE TAEYE 191 An Unconventional Conclusion | ARUNDHATI DHARA and SARAH FRASER 197 Acknowledgements 199 Contributors
