Staff Report

Ultrarunner Karen Williams was attacked by a black bear June 18, 2016 while competing in the annual Valles Caldera Runs as she ran up over a hill and came between a mother bear and her cubs (Link).

She is a nurse and because of her training she recently started taking shifts in the ICU at Los Alamos Medical Center. She also had the opportunity to work in the isolation area.

Williams shared her experiences in ICU and isolation with her nephew John Williams of Missouri. She asked him to put her experiences into a poem, which she would like to share with the community:

Don and Doff
By John Williams

Eyes open Am i awake or asleep … Its the middle of the work week Maybe this is just a lucid dream Hold on let me try to pinch my feet Look over its a quarter til 3 Not supposed to get up til 515 Why cant i get no damn sleep Maybe its because im inevitably dreading the day thats to come look the palms of my hands are already sweaty. But theres no chance of driftin back to sleep So i just lay there an keep Thinkin about every detail Cuz one mistake could mean Everyones world around me could derail.

Hell its been 2 hours now Time to get up get the kids some chow Shower, pack my work bag Hit the road in my flip flops and scrubs But my feet are draggin This extreme attention to detail has got my body all laggin F— outta here with the people that think that nothin bad can happen Oh shit Im at work glad no one got hit, The trip, hell i dont recall any part of it I just fastened my seat belt and it felt I was here in a zip I rest my head But now im runnin late, Cant sit, gotta make haste Put my mask on, Just to get screened Gotta get my temp taken to make sure I aint got the damn COVID-19.

Okay, so today im clean. One step closer to get to those in need. Stow my food, put on my shoes Grab my gear an off to the tarp rooms Room 1 Got a report from the last nurse Tarp room 2, drop the gear i dont need as im still getting answers Tarp room 3, N-95 and the mask to over line, safety goggles, yellow suit, Same one the last guy used. Now off to the patients room.

This guys’s faith is screwed Isolated – no visitors No cell reception, so no one to talk to Could you imagine dyin alone in the hands of complete strangers just as scared as you Confused, not knowin if youre gonna be able to pull through Or bein in my shoes an seein 10 others that was in the same bed before this dude.

Every cough, sneeze, or even a simple movement, Sends these covids spinnin The rooms a super contaminate for the next ten minutes. Oxygen shut down, to slow the hurricane of covids in a nutshell Prepare myself to enter I gotta find my center Hold back the tears of fear Show faith cuz thats why im here Now its finally lunch time Gotta get outta here without takin the covid one nine Its 12 a.m. an ive had to pee since 10:05 But now i gotta doff Back to tarp room 3 to take it all off Alcohol based shampoo, an dry body wash Sanitize the shit outta myself Double bagged my food none the less I hope i deconed enough i guess Ive gotta get movin again, Back through the tarp rooms Back to see the patient again Oh shit i forgot my pen.

Here we go don and doff again Or was it doff an donnin Was i here to take it off or put it on again Oh thats right i forgot my pen So doff is on another 15 minutes gone But everytime The only thing thats goin through my mind Did i just contract the covid one nine If not, will i be able to escape it next time?

I also take care of my parents, and the family at home of mine are they safe? I wish it were more appearant how to elude this virus without sharin it Its hard to compare the feeling of this fear as it hovers over my courage lookin for a tear to seep in an i just tell myself to grow a pair These pep talks arent hardly enough to keep me from givin two f—s how long it takes to detox as long as at the end of the day it chalks Up to be another day someone gets the possibility to walk Out of this place of misery God, we need you now literally. I pray for strength for my team an me End of the shift, damn im beat One last prayer for the pt Exit left, to tarp room 3.

But im not yet free Carefully roll back my sleeves Sweaty, but treating these particles ever so elegantly Alcohol bath again Contaminates in the bag then Douse the bags before i even begin To take my leave back home an Every quarter mile anxiety takes ahold of Every ounce of energy ive got left Try to think back if i kept Everything contained as i swept Through every memory but its like placing a bet Especially as fatigued as i get I guess i should just hope for the best Into the the entrance of my home designated dirty I alone Wash everything until im sure me And my family are surely Safe as i try to settle And rest, a little wine Crack a joke or jest Back to bed an Eyes open, am i awake or asleep.