Stories of COVID-19: Decisions, Part 1
The Story Collider
Story Collider, Inc.
4.4 • 824 Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2020
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the midst of a pandemic, almost every decision feels high stakes, and impossibly complicated. This episode will explore the difficult decisions our storytellers have made, to care for each other and themselves.
Our first story is from labor and delivery nurse Amelia Reeves. When tragedy strikes in the maternity ward, Amelia has to decide whether or not to bend the rules. (Find transcripts and photos on our website.)
After Amelia’s story, our host interviews University of Pennsylvania Professor of Law and Psychology Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, to explore the psychology behind making decisions in a pandemic.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this episode on Monday!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome back to Story Clyder's Stories of COVID-19. This is part one of episode four on the theme of decisions. |
| 0:27.7 | I don't know about you, but for me, decision making has never been more stressful than it has for the past nine months. |
| 0:33.9 | Suddenly, the stakes are so high for every little thing, even when it's just whether or not to leave the house. |
| 0:37.3 | And I, for one, don't feel I've been prepared for this. Let's just say, when I went into the storytelling business 10 years ago, I never thought I would |
| 0:41.3 | have to make pandemic-related decisions. Right now, it's sometimes so hard to know what the |
| 0:48.3 | right thing to do is. Sometimes there is no right thing to do, or at least no option that |
| 0:53.3 | doesn't make you feel bad in some way. |
| 0:55.9 | A lot of us made hard decisions last week when it came to our Thanksgiving plans. |
| 1:00.5 | I had to cancel on Ma'amal Barker, and she informed me that she'll probably be dead by next Thanksgiving, |
| 1:06.8 | so even though I think it was the right decision, I still don't feel great about it. |
| 1:12.3 | And we have a lot of hard decisions ahead of us before this is over. |
| 1:16.8 | In part one of this episode, we'll have our first story about this, |
| 1:21.2 | and then we'll talk to Tess Wilkins and Ryan in expert in decision making about how we're navigating this time. |
| 1:27.6 | Our first story is from Labor and Delivery Nurse Amelia Reeves. |
| 1:31.7 | It was recorded in her walk-in closet and her home in New Orleans. |
| 1:54.6 | On this particular day, I'm finishing up a C-section, which is going to allow me to be open to take the next available patient that comes up to the unit. |
| 2:02.4 | I'm a labor and delivery nurse in New Orleans, and it's early April. New Orleans was hit incredibly hard in the beginning with this virus. Mardi Gras had just happened. My absolute favorite weeks of the year had just come |
| 2:07.7 | to a close when the pandemic hit the city. I'd gone from dancing in the street with thousands of |
| 2:13.1 | costumed people to, you know, being completely alone and quarantined off from anyone and everyone. |
| 2:19.0 | From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows within a matter of weeks. |
| 2:24.2 | Work is kind of a double-edged sword for me. I'm single. I live alone. My family's out of state. |
| 2:30.1 | So on one hand, coming to work means that I get to be around and interact with people. |
... |
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