A look inside the minds and emotions of TGH personnel treating the youngest patients

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa General Hospital released a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19, treating the hospital's youngest patients.

In the latest entry in TGH's video diary series, titled the "COVID Chronicles," the hospital takes viewers in the pediatric unit.

"I worked with a lot of very sick kids, a lot of scary situations, but I've never encountered anything as relentless and unforgiving and terrifying as what we're going through right now," said Dr. Jennifer McCain, a pediatric neuropsychiatrist. "COVID is a very scary experience when you're in the hospital. You have patients who are air-hungry. They're struggling for breath. And as scary as that is for adults, imagine what it's like for kids to go through that."

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According to TGH, the COVID Chronicles are "a raw, unfiltered reality of what's currently happening behind closed doors at Tampa General, as told by team members."

Tampa General produced a series of these video diaries during the height of the pandemic in 2020. But with cases now at an all-time high, "Tampa General empowered team members to share their voices once again."

"Delta Variant really kind of changed the game for us because we weren't seeing that many children. Now we're starting to see it in ICU," said Janet Elozory, the Pediatric ICY Nurse Manager. "The families are just reeling from this because these are normal, healthy children that are suddenly just really struck down with this disease."

"It all feels frustrating. It all feels sad," added Mary Katherine Szikszay, a TGH registered nurse, adding a lot of the children admitted into the ICU end up on respiratory support. "It all takes a piece of your soul every single time that you [treat a child suffering from COVID-19]. It just takes everything from you."

According to recent CDC data, nearly 70 children are admitted into Florida hospitals every day.

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The doctors and nurses who participated in the video are filled with a mixture of emotions: heartache, exhaustion and frustration, among them.

"Every day I just come in to work and wonder, is this going to be the first pediatric death that I see at TGH from COVID," said Danielle Strutt, a pediatric ER nurse.

The video ends with a plea to the public from the TGH staff: get vaccinated.

"We are calling on all of you to stand up and help us," McCain said. "Please protect our children."