LEARNING EVERY DAY— Registered nurse Leslie Pfeiffer works in the ICU at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: As Thousand Oaks begins the process of moving beyond the coronavirus, we’ll spend the next few weeks highlighting some of the many people and organizations that stepped up during the pandemic.
In the war against COVID-19, Leslie Pfeiffer has been fighting on the front lines for over a year.
As a registered nurse in the COVID intensive care unit at Los Robles Regional Medical Center, the Thousand Oaks native spent the past 13 months facing the unknown as the medical community cared for the sick while learning as much as possible about the mysterious disease.
“Every day we would come into work and learn something new about the virus, new medications to better treat these patients. It was a learning experience every single day,” the 16-year nursing veteran said. “It was emotionally challenging just because these patients, they’re scared and they’re afraid of the unknown, and their families can’t be there.”
To serve the sickest COVID patients in her hometown, the Westlake High School graduate wore double layers of gloves, an N-95 mask and a hood with forced air. She would report to work in workout clothes, change into hospital scrubs, then change again after her 12-hour shifts to avoid bringing the disease home to her children. Sometimes the mother of three worked six days a week.
At the peak of the pandemic this winter, there were 30 patients in the COVID ICU and another 70 COVID patients elsewhere in the hospital.
Pfeiffer said it was a year of history and heartbreak.
“It was neat to be part of something that was historical, but at the same time it was heartbreaking to have to watch someone pass away and not have their family there,” she said. “You’re holding someone’s hand in their room because they’re passing, and their family can’t be there. That was the toughest thing for most of us.”
She saw some patients make amazing recoveries, but she also saw patients lose their battle with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Pfeiffer said nurses leaned on each other to get through the constant heartbreak.
“We have a really amazing team,” she said.
The support from the community also made a difference for healthcare workers, she said.
“We’re really grateful for the people in the community who’ve been supportive, who’ve made signs, brought food and delivered cute letters from kids at school. Those things were really nice when you’re going through something so difficult.”
Part of that difficulty was explaining to her 8-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son why they couldn’t hug her right away when she came home from the hospital or why she had to go back to work so soon.
Pfeiffer said the situation in the COVID ICU is “so much better now” but it’s not time for the public to drop their guard quite yet.
“It’s important to stay safe and do everything they can to keep others safe as well. People still need to be careful,” she said. “The vaccine has been wonderful, and I’m definitely grateful to get it.”
Pfeiffer said the virus peaked from November to January and in the lead-up to the surge her colleagues borrowed a line from “Game of Thrones” as a warning.
“They would say, ‘Winter is coming,’” she said. “It did.”