Colorado ICU Nurse Shares A Day In The Life During Coronavirus Pandemic

LONE TREE, Colo. (CBS4) - National Nurse's Day on Wednesday kicks off a week of recognition, and it couldn't have come at a more deserving time. Nurses around the country are on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic, work that for the most part goes unseen.

Liz Johnson was asked to document her day as a registered nurse in the ICU at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree to give the community a glimpse into her day.

"I have to be honest I was actually very embarrassed to do it," Johnson said.

But she did.

"I don't think a lot of people really know what it's like."

A two-part series shared by the hospital that shows a day in the life of an ICU nurse from before the shift starts.

"Got to give them love before I go," she said while recording on her cellphone and giving her youngest daughter a kiss on the cheek while she sleeps.

From the moment she arrives at the hospital things have changed.

"He's going to screen me," she said as she walked through the employee designated entrance, "What's my temperature? 97.2."

Then it's off to pick up her PPE that will protect her while treating the COVID-19 patients in her care.

"I need a small N95 and three gowns," you can hear her say in her video.

And despite the already long hours, on this particularly day she is working an extra shift.

"If I have the chance, and I have an ounce of energy, I want to be there to help," she said.

In her 11 years working in critical care she says she's never seen anything like this virus or the show of support for her work that comes with it.

"She is the most amazing and strong person I know," her 12-year-old daughter Annelise said during a Zoom interview.

"It makes me proud. It makes me proud to be a part of this community. It makes me proud to be a nurse."