My dear friend's daughter is a nurse. She is in Washington State and is on Ground Zero of the fight against COVID-19. She and her staff have lost patients to this disease and they work with high-risk folks daily around the clock (sometimes up to 100 hours per week) in supporting these sweet souls. The nurses don’t call in sick because there would be no one there to save these lives. It's the nurses that are there battling, making sure the people with so much fear in their hearts get the medical treatment they need, as well as encouragement, love, and reassurance they deserve.
My friend's sister is a nurse here in town at a local nursing home. These nursing homes are under quarantine and no one but the health professionals and staff can come or go. The residents are frightened, lonely and have only the medical care teams to turn to for companionship and love. These nurses and staff are also working around the clock to ensure that these sweet souls are cared for both physically and emotionally. They are wearing two hats - health care providers and substitute family members.
Neither of these women has the opportunity to say no. It was the promise they made when they took their oath. Regardless of what they might be exposed to, they show up. Regardless of how afraid they are for their health, their children’s exposure, their spouse’s and other loved ones, they show up. They swallow their fears, say a prayer of protection, and dive right into the fight. Because that’s their job.
Our hands feel tied with this virus. There's a threat of our local small businesses closing down. Of unemployment. The list goes on. But how must it feel to be a nurse, a doctor, an aid, a first responder? These are precious human lives that are fighting for other precious human lives! They don’t get the luxury of stepping away for a cup of coffee, a lunch, a drink of water or even a bathroom break. All for the love of the humans in their care.
My sweet friend owns a local business here in town. Her name is Laurel Winslow and she owns Wicked Voodoo Espresso - She owns a retail location and two drive-through kiosks. She recently surprised a couple of nursing homes in our community with coffee for their employees. Seeing the staff in action had a tremendous impact on her.
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| Here are a couple of staff members at Colonial Manor happily accepting a coffee delivery. |
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| Laurel Winslow handing over a box of coffees to a thankful employee at Elan at West Point. |
Laurel says, "I am not going to lie…I could not speak the words I wanted to when we delivered some silly coffee to them this morning. Because I couldn’t, because my heart was so full of love and admiration for what they do every day, I cried every time they said thank you. So please, help me say thank you to them for all the love these teams put into their jobs! They are the heroes. "
She has a plan to help thank the people who put aside their own fears to help others through these trying times.
"We are also doing a coffee drive at all our locations. We are asking for our customers to buy a bag of coffee and we will deliver it to hospital staff, first responders, clinics and nursing homes. We want to get coffee in the hands of those that are serving our community. You may also purchase an extra coffee and let our staff know that you want it to go to a health care provider or first responder and we will make sure they get it! We are asking anyone if any of our first responder and medical friends need coffee for their office or even home during long hours, come thru the drive through and let us know."
For more information, visit any one of the Wicked Voodoo Espresso locations, their facebook page, or Instagram @wicked_voodoo_espresso. You may also order coffee directly from Wicked Voodoo to support this small business that goes above and beyond to support others.
