Inspiring Women SUMMER 2020

have to be done daily from anything about available beds,
negative pressure beds available, status of PPE, numbers of staff
available as well as beds and on what level can you cover. How
many critical care beds do you have? Also, there is a vast
amount of logistics to deal with regarding quarantine: how to get
food to them, how do you check on patients and staff that are
being quarantined at home or in a hotel.
A day usually starts at 6:15 a.m. for me and first thing I look at the
isolation ward that we had to create. How many patients are
there? Then check how many swabs are outstanding and what
the results are. Covering the hospital with staff when we are
down 50% of staff because they live in an area that is high risk so
their entire area has been locked down. It is a high wire act for
sure. Also, you have to be flexible, as things change on an hourly
basis in some cases.
I make rounds in the ward to see how the staff are coping and
what needs do I have to address there. As we have a large
number of expats they are also struggling being thousands of
miles away from their own families during this crisis. As for myself,
my only son Patrick lives and works in NYC with his girlfriend and,
of course, I worry about them tremendously.
The isolation has been probably the worst, we are stuck on the
hospital grounds and Saudi did a very wise thing by restricting movement immediately but that
also means no taxis, UBER or private drivers can take you anywhere, even to get groceries. I have
the privilege of being in two FAWCO clubs: AWEP in Saudi Arabia and AW Aquitaine, both of
which have been a huge support. Maggie from the Aquitaine is a great cheerleader to have on
your team and I cannot wait to get to France as soon as possible. My AWEP friends in Saudi have
been unbelievable, sending masks to my staff, coming by with Easter dinner. They are long
draining days but I always feel at the end of the day that we made a difference.
Take time to thank those around you. The world has been saved by healthcare workers,
environmental workers, transportation people, first responders; the guy stocking the grocery
shelves may be my new hero! We lived our lives a bit better thanking those that improved our
lives and not one of them was a billionaire CEO or an athlete. You learn a lot in a crisis.
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