Consoling the dying never gets any easier
A SINGER who is wowing viewers of TG4’s hit country music talent show, Glór Tíre, has told how she has comforted Covid-19 victims and their grieving relatives, and struggled to find the right words.
Emma Donohue, 22, from Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, is one of the favourites to win the hit Tuesday night show. She is juggling her singing career with life as a frontline worker and a student in the third year of her general nursing degree course in Athlone IT. She has done her work placement in various hospitals.
She told the Irish Mail On Sunday: ‘I have been the hand that some peoples’ relatives held, or who they’ve spoken to before they passed away from Covid and the side-effects from it. Sometimes they come up with questions that I just don’t have an answer for. Sometimes there are just no words.
‘Despite all the coverage it has been given, I am not sure people still fully appreciate how deadly this virus is. It knows no boundaries, it doesn’t care about age, sex, or colour. I have seen, first-hand, patients with Covid and the effects it has on them, be it young or old. It’s not a nice sight.’
She said: ‘When you are with a patient all you can do is reassure them you are doing your best, it’s a frightening experience for them to see nurses and doctors in full PPE gear, so you have to try and instil a belief in them that things will be fine.
‘It’s a steep learning curve because it is not something I ever expected to have to deal with when I chose nursing as a career.
‘I’d implore people to heed the health experts’ advice to stay at home and help protect others and your own family.’
Emma admits that even when she ends her shift it is difficult to forget what she has seen and had to deal with.
‘In this profession, you are told you hang your coat up when you come in, put it on again as you leave and when you put it on you forget about everything. That’s good advice but in the Covid era, it is hard to actually do it.
‘You have to try and compartmentalise things, but that’s easier said than done. The debrief and follow-up discussion that happens at the end of every shift is a huge help. There’s a very close-knit community in nursing and we can talk things through with each other.
‘The other thing I do is go for a run to clear the head. I find that brilliant,’ she said.
One outlet that is largely denied to her at the moment is singing on stage, although there will be plenty of opportunities to do that should she emerge as the Glór Tire winner when the show starts in earnest next week.
‘It’s frustrating not being able to go out and do a gig but the show has certainly replaced it.
‘Country music was always in my bones so I said I would give it a go, I’m being mentored by another Galway singer, Mike Denver. He’s been brilliant.
‘Even if I win it, I will stay grounded. What I have seen at work in the last year will make sure of that,’ Emma said.
‘Sometimes there are just no words’