“I’d wake up at around six in the morning to get to work for eight and start my 12-hour shift. I’d get home late and go to sleep only to wake up the next day and do it all over again”. As I sit opposite someone I have known my entire life, I start to see her in a different light. Thanks to a global pandemic, the sister that used to pretend I was her toy-doll is now my very own Covid hero.
Growing up, I always knew that an indomitable will was something that my sister had deeply ingrained in her. She was the most wilful and stubborn child of the three of us, even when she didn’t need to be. But it wasn’t until a global pandemic happened that I realised just how strong she is.
My sister Lauren was born in the spring of 1998, the second of my parents’ three children. Two and a half years later – the half is very important to her – I came along. Being pretty close in age, we always did everything together. Over time, this evolved. As we got older, we did more and more on our own but always remained very close.
In March 2020, when the first national lockdown was announced, Lauren was coming to the end of her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Economics at the University of Sussex. Once finished, she moved back to Gloucestershire and got a job in an inpatient facility, supporting young patients with mental health conditions. The job was “challenging emotionally and physically”, Lauren says. “But it was so rewarding to be able to help people during such a difficult time in their lives”.
At the inpatient facility, her shifts were 12 hours long and varied between day shifts and night shifts. Due to Covid, she was required to wear a mask at all times at work. Like many others, this is something that didn’t work well for Lauren’s skin, leaving her with a bad case of “mascne”, aka mask acne. “I didn’t mind wearing a mask because it kept people safe”, she explains. “Mask acne was painful though”.
Alongside working a full-time job, Lauren was also studying for a Master’s degree in Mental Health Therapies. “Juggling 12-hour shifts with a full-time masters was tricky sometimes”, she says. It’s clear from her tone that she doesn’t say it for sympathy – she’s very matter of fact about it. “I had three to four 12-hour shifts per week and one full day of lectures. I then had to complete assignments and my dissertation around my shifts at work”. She did all of this with not much support from the outside world.
Last week, Lauren graduated with a Masters in Mental Health Therapies and now works for the NHS as an Assistant Clinician in an eating disorder clinic. For the past two years, she hasn’t worked miracles but she has a made big difference to the lives of the people she has worked with. She’s worked hard, cared for her others – even when it’s not always been appreciated – and it’s for that reason she’s my Covid hero.
