During the recent pandemic we saw first-hand how diseases like Covid-19 can impact our everyday lives, what we didn’t see were the people working behind the scenes caring for patients and helping to protect those that they encounter. We can sometimes call them the “Forgotten Hero’s.” There is one respiratory therapist Dr. Domonisa Hurley, DrPH, RRT, who decided to tell the experience of working through the pandemic and the effects of COVID-19 from the Lens of the Respiratory Therapist.
Dr. Hurley is a native Harlemite and grew up with her own respiratory issues. Her early beginnings led to her passion for her field of work. Dr. Hurley has 19 years of experience as a Respiratory Therapist. The last two years of her career have been the most difficult, due to witnessing so many deaths from COVID-19. She has made it her duty to share in her new book, what she and other respiratory therapists have witnessed during this time.
COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. It has killed over one million people. Worldwide there were more than 91 million cases reported since it began spreading in November 2019. Overcrowded ERs and hospitals received the populations of emptied-out cities into their medical facilities. Ventilators became essential machines and Respiratory Therapists became the essential medical professional. This book was written to make US citizens aware by walking side by side with respiratory therapists as they administer life-saving medical care in hospitals that resemble triage tents in a natural disaster. You will hear the heartbreaking stories of Respiratory Therapists having to make life-or-death choices.
At what point during the global pandemic of COVID-19, did you realize that Respiratory Therapists needed a voice about what they were going through as they were helping their patients?
The pandemic was a wake-up call for many of us. It forced us to re-evaluate our lives, and careers, especially those working in healthcare. It addressed some things that were going on with respiratory therapists that were overlooked for many years.
We saw how important it was to live a healthy lifestyle, having good hygiene and good health was an advantage for fighting the infection. It motivated me to take my service to another level and help others by providing education on protecting oneself in the pandemic and the steps to obtain good respiratory health.
Honestly, I don’t recall the exact moment when I realized that we needed a voice. During the height of the pandemic, I don’t think most people realized what we were going through. Some of my colleagues along with other medical professionals were quitting. We were scared. And despite that fear and the huge task at hand (an influx of patients), we had to keep going. People were depending on us. Someone had to speak up.
What does a day in life look like for you as a therapist and an author?
It’s busy, to say the least. Providing respiratory care to various patients weekly as a Registered Respiratory Therapist and becoming an author keeps my plate full. There are days when my schedule gets challenging but I believe helping others is the focal point of my life’s work so I adjust where I need to and keep going. My process as an author is, I write what I have lived. It’s the experience that will help someone. The experience is the testimony that will inspire the person to move forward. We have to look at ourselves and what we go through as living testimonies. This life is not about us but the people whom we serve.
What has been the most rewarding part of your career thus far?
Being chosen to serve people. It’s rewarding and fulfilling. Knowing I provided a service that helped someone to breathe again to live again. This book launch is also one of those career-defining moments. I get to create something that will live on forever. It is a reference and guides people can use for years to come. It is a humbling moment.
Tell us about your book “The Forgotten Heroes: COVID-19 from the Lens of the Respiratory Therapist.” That was released Monday, October 24, 2022, and how we can get a copy?
You will read firsthand accounts of the thought process behind having to attend to multiple lives collapsing and dying because the virus has literally taken their breath away. You will walk side by side with Respiratory Therapists as they administer life-saving medical care in hospitals that resemble triage tents in a natural disaster. You will hear the heartbreaking stories of Respiratory Therapists having to make life-or-death choices. The Forgotten Heroes gives you a viewpoint from the eyes of the Respiratory Therapist during one of the deadliest pandemics in world history.
The last several years have allowed us to re-evaluate our lives and professions. Respiratory therapy was not something you sought after. You didn’t choose the field; the field chose you. It’s a calling and you have to have a mind and heart to serve people. To enter into this field, there had to be a connection from your past, present, experience, or something connecting you to the field, which led you to decide to go forth. It won’t be just the money aspect of it. Now more than ever, people are starting to realize that respiratory health is something you should strive to have and maintain even before getting sick.
There’s a need for more medical professionals to specialize in this area as well. There was and still is a high demand for professionals in this field. From the start of COVID-19 until now, Respiratory Therapists felt like they were becoming forgotten heroes, but I’m here to remind people and other medical professionals that we are not Forgotten. We are here. We have been here. And we will always be here. What we do is important. Our role in the profession is a necessity.
You can get a copy of my book by visiting https://theforgottenheroesrrtonthemove.com/ to learn more about these things.
What kind of advice would you give an individual who has an interest in writing a book?
Do your research. Know the answer to the 5 questions: The What, Why, Who, When, and How. Writing and publishing a book is not easy. There will be times you get stuck and overwhelmed but if you can speak, believe, and act upon it, you can do it. The best gift you can give the world is a product of your intellectual property (your mind). Something that can live on and continue to change people’s lives.
Being a respiratory therapist and trying to write a book during the pandemic, what did you use for an outlet? How did you incorporate self-care?
Prayer, prayer, and prayer. That meant a lot of talks with God. I had many coaching sessions because I needed assistance with a strategy to navigate through the process of writing the book. I was intentional with how I spent my time. On days, weeks, and even months when I was overwhelmed with work, I made sure to have those quiet moments to reassess and let the words flow through me before putting pen to paper. I also read. In order to be a great writer you have to be an avid reader. It’s also therapeutic.
In everything that we do in life, we gain experience and wisdom. What did you gain/learn from your experiences during your career thus far?
I learned that whatsoever one desire and speak, one can have it. But you have to believe and act upon it. My revelation from my experiences, if I can conceive it, speak it, see it, write it, and birth it, then I can not only obtain it but become it. I used the tools in my career and applied them to my life. I identify, assess, evaluate and treat (finding solutions). This tool works wonders. Take one moment at a time and celebrate every step, move, and effort, which is the micro-wins but they are just as important as the macro-wins. I give myself permission to celebrate myself.
Any upcoming releases or new projects you would like to tell us about?
The book launch event is October, 24th, which marks the official release of the book: https://theforgottenheroesrrtonthemove.com. I am just so excited!
Also, follow me on social media for all other announcements. Most importantly, get this book. It’s not only my baby, it’s a reference and source of powerful information that can change your life or the life of others.
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