Respiratory therapist Liz Lewis wishes unvaccinated people could step into her shoes. Even for a day.

“If only I could take them into the ICU for a day,” Lewis said. “They could see what happens in a COVID ICU. It’s gut-wrenching.” 

Lewis paints a grim picture of patients struggling with COVID-19 at St. Joseph Medical Center. Tubes running this way and that. Machines buzzing. Humans—our neighbors—in unimaginable pain. 

“Patients are begging for help because they can’t breathe,” she said. “Or begging for me to help them die because they’re too exhausted.” 

Lewis’ telling of a COVID-19 ICU unit reminds us the pandemic is far from over. Patients still crowd hospitals 20 months after we confirmed the first COVID-19 case in Pierce County. We are quickly approaching 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pierce County. And we’re close to more than 1,000 confirmed deaths from the virus. 

“I have many patients who have come in and by the time they reach the ICU they ask for the vaccine,” Lewis said. “At that point it’s too late.”

Some can escape the realities of COVID-19 continuing around us. But many like Lewis live it daily. 

“I live COVID-19 for 12-plus hours a day,” Lewis said. “I see how detrimental it is. I see people dying without their families.” 

Never before, and we hope never again. 

A veteran at one of Tacoma’s largest hospitals, Lewis thought she’d seen it all. But she never imagined anything like the pandemic and the workload that came with it.  

“Before COVID-19 it was your typical respiratory patients, which still keep us very busy,” Lewis said. “But with a respiratory pandemic we have definitely been on the forefront of this virus. It has required more from us.” 

Lewis and 4 other core staff respiratory therapists at St. Joseph’s Medical Center often feel helpless fighting COVID-19. Patients can’t breathe, and there’s often little to help them. Their work has expanded to emotional care now, too. 

“These patients are scared and alone,” Lewis said. “There are no visitors. They can’t have their loved ones. We are not only assisting in a higher level of care; we are also there for them emotionally.” 

Respiratory therapists like Lewis are the last ones at a COVID-19 patient’s bedside. She takes the breathing tube out of a patient’s mouth. She has seen “countless” patients die, she said. Usually alone.

“Family can be on Zoom or on little screens,” Lewis said. “But we are there holding their hands as they pass. It’s emotionally difficult to be doing that every day, all day.” 

A way out.

COVID-19 vaccine provided a sense of relief. She remembers almost crying with joy the day it came to the hospital. 

“In the hospital it was wonderful,” she said. “We were all so excited. We all got in line to get it.” 

But the relief gave way to worry. She realized some in the community weren’t getting vaccine. As the months drag on, Lewis worries some will never get vaccine. 

“The pushback against vaccine is difficult for me personally,” she said. 

The respiratory therapist worries people who survive the virus will have their lives forever changed. Lung scarring caused from serious COVID-19 won’t go away, she said. 

The distrust and reluctance to get vaccinated puzzles her. Along with keeping yourself safe, she wants to see people step up for the community. 

You may be young and healthy, she said, but those around you aren’t. 

“I think a lot of times people need to think not only of themselves but how they affect the community and their loved ones,” Lewis said. 

Find your dose.

Help people like Lewis. Help your community. Do your part. Find your COVID-19 vaccine today at tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture. Everyone 5 and older is eligible. If you need a ride to an appointment or can’t easily leave your home, we can help! Call us at (253) 649-1412, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

And you can do even more to help stop the spread.

• Fight the flu, too, and get your flu shot.
• Wear your mask.
• If you’re sick, stay home.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Get tested if you experience symptoms or were exposed.
• Get vaccinated.

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