GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two different generations working side by side in the medical field to save lives.
Les Nichols, a nurse at High Point Regional Medical Center, said life in the medical field during the coronavirus pandemic is surreal.
“We've had several positives. A lot of testing done, a lot of negatives,” Les said. “Lots of patients we're sending home to quarantine at home.”
Les isn’t in the fight along. He has his daughter Sarah to walk through the ER doors with him.
“I love it,” Sarah said. “Whenever he told me he was going to start his path with nursing I was excited because I knew how much knowledge he had.”
Sarah and Les are the father-daughter duo at the medical center. They've been working in the ER together for two years. Now, they're on the front lines in the fight against the coronavirus.
Sarah said she did her first chest compressions and experienced her first death with her father by her side.
“It was a bunch of firsts for me, but it was stuff he had already done and got to walk me through it,” Sarah said. “I wouldn't want it to happen any other way. I was so happy he was there to support me and get me through that.”
Les already has a decade of experience in health care, but now he's pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where his daughter Sarah is set to graduate Friday.
“We're all the time bouncing ideas off each other and going through case studies and different scenarios.”
Their bond has helped them adapt to the pandemic both on the job and at school.
“It's like, you know, ‘I've got to tell you about my day or I might go crazy.' Les said. “It's nice to have her decompress me and me decompress her.”
Sarah has accepted a full-time position at the High Point Medical Center so the two will see each other a lot more.
Les said he's proud to have the opportunity to witness his daughter's growth and strength as a nurse during such trying times.
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