Honoring Heroic N.J. Nurses in the Pandemic: Suzette Silverio- Sequeira

The Door 

The coughing, nausea and chills
Came in waves of severity,
Didn’t know what to expect next
Behind the door,
I assured my family I was okay
I wasn’t…
Feeling scared and exhausted
The headaches, body aches, cough
And abdominal pain
Were never ending,
I hoped the social distancing I did at home before the
symptoms started
was enough to keep my family safe
Hoping the door was enough of a barrier now
A knock on the door,
At first, it was just fluids I could tolerate and Tylenol
As the COVID 19 virus worked its way through my
body,
A knock on the door
Was my meals and homemade cookies
The door,
Became my solace,
Protecting the family I love
I am sure our pet dog didn’t
quite understand why
I stayed behind the door
The day I received the call
with the test result,
I was relieved because it confirmed what I knew
when the first ice cold chill ran down my spine so
many days ago,
I have COVID 19
Behind the door,
I was still a mom, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend,
Nurse, colleague
Once the door finally opened,
I became a COVID 19 survivor!!!
Forever grateful and appreciative
Of health, life and love…

Suzette Silverio- Sequeira, BSN, RNC
NJSNA Region 3 member
Clark, NJ