Beyond fortitude: COVID-19 nurses tap a hidden strength – “sisu”

I can see the banner atop the Space Needle from my desk at home. It reads, “We got this Seattle.” While I am grateful that my city is no longer the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, my thoughts turn to my former home and my colleagues in New York City living in the eye of this dark storm.

I emailed a number of front-line nurses at Manhattan’s Lenox Hill Hospital, where I once worked, asking them to describe how they are able to maintain a constancy of care when they are running on empty.

Their stories are gallant examples of: a Finnish word meaning the extraordinary