R
OUNDING THE CORNER of her street, Katie Bernsen catches a glimpse of color. Balloons fly from the trees. Fresh baked goods, stacks of cards and gifts pile near the doorway. Poster boards litter the yard. Her yard. "A COVID Fighting Rockstar Lives Here" "Our Superhero Wears Scrubs" "Today We Celebrate Katie" "Kirkwood Loves You" Overwhelmed, Bernsen is greeted by her family and a few close friends. April 15, 2020, Bernsen, the ICU nurse manager at St. Mary's Hospital, was "love bombed." As the ICU nurse manager, Bernsen oversaw two ICU units at St. Mary's Hospital. Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the St. Louis area, St. Mary's opened a third ICU unit, strictly dedicating two of them to coronavirus patients. Prior to the outbreak, Bernsen worked five days a week. Now she works long, inconsistent hours for all seven. Stephanie Schmidt, Bernsen's close friend, said she knew Bernsen had been working every day and was struggling. So when she woke up April 12 she told herself, "Today's the day. We are going to celebrate her, and I'm gonna invite everyone I know to get on board with it." And so, Schmidt called mutual friend, Rob Monroe, for backup. They decided to create a Facebook group of all their and Bernsen's mutual Facebook friends, and they sent out a message asking people to make yard signs to "love bomb" Bernsen's front yard. Schmidt and Monroe said the goal was to remind Bernsen she is loved and appreciated. "I know how important any little recognition of things people are doing well [is]," Schmidt said. "We tend to think people that have big problems need big solutions. It takes a long time to get to the big solutions, so I'm really aware of celebrating the little steps. Anything we can do to celebrate
16
KHS JOURNALISM CORONAVIRUS ISSUE
Previous Page