Jane's Story

This is not a normal post from me, we are not in normal times … please I implore you, before you step outside your door to meet someone, read this. For any who are TLDR; its basically this, don't break the rules, be nice to someone who wears scrubs.

I usually am very conscious about not “cross platforming” and keeping a separation between what I consider professional, personal, family and friends or banter. This doesn’t really fit into any of those categories’ or it fits into all of them … so it’s going on all of them.

In the spirit of my corporate background I am going to start with the “ask”, I don’t want your time, I don’t want your money, I want care and compassion and love, and most importantly of all YOUR IDEAS. This is not for me. This is not a “public challenge” and honestly, I don’t want to know the outcome for any other person.

Feel free to share this idea or post as widely as you wish!

I don’t want for me, I am covered in all those spaces with a fantastic employer and brand showing leadership and most importantly compassion, a brilliant management team who are doing everything they can to give us comfort and security, a great team who are trying to keep the spirits up and wonderful social circle of friends and family where we are doing everything we can to make this as good as it can be.

We are now in home “lock down” in New Zealand and we face four weeks in the same household. We have now got Prime, Disney, Netflix, Spotify, a home office, a home school room, Jenga, Cards, my bad music collection and all the other things that will make this better. I am sure there will be raised voices, I am sure there will be tears and I assume there will be “stress for us”, I will have a whinge at some point I know regarding bad Zoom calls, customer decision making lengthening, people being unable to be contacted, being stir crazy.

But no, I am not asking, not for me. For these people.

I have been forced to face and think about some things over the last few days of what is the difference between “us” and “them” is.

Who are “Them”?

The healthcare professionals from Auckland to Alaska from Zanzibar to Zurich who are currently selflessly sacrificing of themselves for “us” … everyone else.

We need to give them the support they need to know they are appreciated, cared for, loved and respected. What do I mean by sacrificing and why do I feel I have the right to talk about it ? Well, I don’t directly, and I want to extend my personal gratitude to every healthcare professional globally, I am not involved in direct health care, but I have for many years been first aid and response trained, it’s a small thing and only cost me time and I thought I understood.

I do not.

Let me tell you why … its Jane’s story.

Over the last few weeks a very close friend, let’s call her Jane, has been staying with me in New Zealand, when she left the U.K. on the 5th March the U.K. had just had its first cases start to percolate through the news media.

Just to preface, she is on an eight-week holiday all booked and paid for. Jane had been through a long hard training to qualify into a specialist medical position of ODP (or anaesthetic technician) during which she spent a huge amount of effort, time and money to qualify (self-funded!) to help more people whilst maintaining a home, a job in respiratory nursing and a family.

This holiday was meant to be for her to have some downtime after that effort of 3 years of 100-hour weeks and then after that a personal tragedy and loss hit her just after Christmas.

So, Jane was looking forward to 8 weeks in New Zealand to rest, recover, recharge and head back to the U.K.

On March the 5th the UK had 116 cases. On March the 5th New Zealand had 3 cases.

The first thing Jane told me was that prior to being in “public” she had to spend 2 weeks self-isolated. This was on March the 5th. This was her choice and was because she didn’t want to endanger anyone.

We did this with most time spent at home, a couple a few road trips (in the car ... drive ... “Ohhh pretty view” … drive home”) and then last weekend we were ready to “plan” for her to see the sights of New Zealand.

During that time things started changing, as things have worsened, I have watched Jane become increasingly frustrated and agitated. Not because we can’t go out or missing out on her holiday but because she can’t get involved.

As this crisis has deepened and become bleaker, I have watched her change. There is an old military saying of the bravery of those in our forces and “they who are bravest run to the sound of the guns”, I want to try and give an outsiders perspective of an insiders thinking.

She speaks to her ward every day, she speaks to her colleagues and spends hours online talking to nurses, doctors and specialists in the UK just to be “there” for them as they are working 100-hour weeks. She was looking for ways to change her flights to get back to the U.K. cut short her holiday and join them.

I was on a team call came on Monday when the press conference was happening, and the decision was taken to shut down and I ran around thinking of things I needed to do for “getting ready”. I wasn’t worried about food I have faith in the guys in logistics and food produce to have us covered but it was Jenga, duvets, jigsaws, whiteboards for the home school and all those things to make the next 4 weeks better for us locked up together.

Jane was talking to ADHB about how to get involved.

Jane was asking if she could work here, how she could work here, what she could do to help. To share her skills and knowledge with a country she doesn't know, people she has never met.

Tonight, I am helping her with a work visa application, not because she wishes financial reward but to allow her to practice her skills and help people. I asked Jane, “Why are you doing this?” and honestly tried to persuade her not to, after a long conversation of the risks, the rewards and the sacrifices she would and could be making it boiled down to one simple thing.

“Its my job”

She asked me to understand.

I don’t but I am trying.

So, back to my ask.

As we settle into our 4 weeks of isolation and working from home in the corporate world, the chaos and confusion and the “stress” of the situation. Let’s all take a moment to think about the Jane’s, the John’s, them all.

These heroes are knowingly putting themselves at risk. They do this to save “us” and their bravery and work should be rewarded.

I am just not meaning in terms of gift baskets for the staff in the hospitals or corporate giving of hand cream both of which are greatly appreciated by the staff I am informed so please keep doing those! I also meaning thinking outside the box and longer term.

These wonderful men and women give so much without asking maybe it’s time we as a corporate world, business world and wider society give something back that’s not just an easy $20 tick on a GoFundMe page.

Ideas? the hard ones are how to repay the love. We need to show these people the reason they are fighting this for us and that we know what they are sacrificing.

And it starts with this;

Before you set foot outside and sneak in a little bit of social time or go meet up “just for a few minutes” know that you are risking Jane and John’s health.

Every patient downstream has the capacity to endanger the very people who are risking their health for “us”, sacrificing of themselves and their families and doing so without asking for anything in return. They do this willingly and will treat every patient who comes their way with the same decency and human kindness as the next and take that risk on our behalf.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not ask them to do this because you couldn’t just LISTEN

Finally, I want to challenge everyone to do something for a health professional, something small, something private, it may be one you know, it may be a totally stranger. It may be this week or later.

Not publicly, not vanity giving and shouting about it, not posting up what we have done and waiting for kudos. This is not pay it forward. Its pay it back.

Let’s repay their incredible in the most important way possible by showing them we appreciate them.

If you got to the end, I thank you.

Everyone stay as safe as possible and I will resume normal tech blogging next time.