Awareness Ties

DR. JASON CAMPBELL RESIDENT PHYSICIAN, OHSU OFFICIAL HERO SELECTION

As seen on Good Morning America, Fox News, VICE, Womans Day, and countless other media outlets, Jason ‘TikTok Doc’ Campbell is making headlines and breaking barriers, all while battling COVID-19 at the Oregon Health & Sciences University. If there was a doctor to unite us it is him, and the time is now.

JACK: You have an incredible story to share. But before we get there, let’s start right here. Today, you are on the frontline. What can you tell us about your experience thus far.

JASON: Being on the frontline of COVID has been certainly something unique and diferent that I know many of us will look back on in years and think back to. It’s been tough. It’s been special. It’s shown how together we are stronger. It's shown everyone how fragile life is and can be. I'm very blessed and fortunate that here in Oregon, and in Portland specifically, we've kept our numbers low with staying at home with isolation, washing hands, social distancing, and all the things that our governor and our health ofcials have been preaching. So, to my Oregonians, I’m proud of you. I am very blessed and happy to serve as a physician during COVID-19.

JASON ‘TIKTOK DOC’ CAMPBELL RESIDENT PHYSICIAN @ OHSU PORTLAND, OR

MEET JASON THE IMAGE OF A DOCTOR ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE

JACK: Jason, you have became an instant hero and mentor for so many. For those who don’t know where your story began, would you mind bringing everyone up to speed?

JASON: I originated from Washington DC in Northwest DC to two loving parents and my younger sister. My mother was the first African American female PhD epidemiologist in the country. My father was the first in his family (the only) to go to college and is now a lawyer. Growing up in that house was incredibly special because my parents were always there for me. My sister has always been loving. My parents came to all my sporting events, my dance events, my band concerts and everything and anything a kid could ask for. It was once said, "Jason, you have the parents that every kid deserves."

I matriculated down to Emory University in Atlanta Georgia where I was a student athlete. I was a pre-medical student first and a track and field athlete second. I ran the 800 meters and the 4 by 400 meter relay, where I was able to garner All-American accolades. After Emory I spent a year doing City Year, an AmeriCorps program that is near and dear to my heart. I made a lot of great friends and dealt with a lot of challenges based on students that had never received the external motivation that they deserved - the external motivation that I had taken for granted. To work with them, to show them that they can do it and that they can achieve even more than they had ever believed was special. So, I spent a year of my life dedicated to them.

JASON: (continued) After that year I then went into a master's program in Physiology at Georgetown University and George Mason University, prior to applying to medical school where I ended up matriculating an attending The Ohio State University College of Medicine. The story there is that I was actually waitlisted. I was one of the first of the waitlist, but I interviewed in January of 2014 and didn't find out till May of 2014. So, patience is truly a virtue. If you want something, sometimes you do have to wait for it. I ended up leaving The Ohio State University College of Medicine as a student body president and made lifelong mentors and friends during that time. That then led me to Oregon Health and Science University where I am currently a secondyear resident in the department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine. I have wonderful co-residents CRNA colleagues and attending or staf anesthesiologist that I get to learn from and work with on the daily.

All this has led to my TikTok dances. If you know me, you know I'm always upbeat. I'm optimistic. The glass is always full in some way. It led me to start these dances to connect with the youth, especially the African American youth, to make change - to change the face of medicine in decades to come. Subsequently, the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, and we were able to utilize these dances for two reasons - to connect to the youth and to show people that self isolation can still be fun. A foot shake is an okay way to greet someone; laughter and a smile is another form of medicine.

TIKTOK DOC LIVE ON GMA

We are their family as we care for them and love them.

KELLY SITES DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE NURSE @ SAMARITAN’S PURSE CREMONA, ITALY

KELLY SITES DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE NURSE, SAMARITAN’S PURSE OFFICIAL HERO SELECTION

When you meet someone who doesn’t define our humanity but embodies what our humanity should be, you may have just been lucky enough to have met Nurse Kelly Sites. Please be prepared. The words of grace and generosity that follow will most likely bring you to tears with new perspective and hope.

ALLIÉ: You’ve seen so much, Kelly. From Ebola to Cholera, you’ve treated diseases all around the world to serve those in need. I imagine you have so many stories. What story can you share about your most recent experience with COVID-19?

KELLY: I've been a Disaster Assistance Response Nurse with Samaritan's Purse for 10 years. I have served four times in Africa for the Ebola outbreak, Bangladesh for Diphtheria, Haiti for Cholera, Iraq, Phillipines, Vanuatu, and many other places for diferent disasters. Most recently I served in Cremona, Italy for a month. I served in a 68 bed field hospital that became a respiratory care unit, where we have cared for over 250 COVID patients to date.

I'm passionate about keeping the spotlight on the patients who are isolated and feel alone and afraid. We are the bridge to the outside world. We are their family as we care for them, and love them. We hold their hands as we tell them their husband just died of COVID. We wipe their tears. We celebrate when they are finally able to come of of their ventilator and breathe on their own. We cheer when they are strong enough to walk out of the doors of the field hospital.

It's emotional to see physicians, nurses, lab techs, x-ray and techs pour their hearts into their patients. They wear the marks of the mask and PPE as their badge of honor. They put it on again and again and again. Day after day. Armed with grace, mercy and love to care for patients. We wear 2 pairs of gloves, a tight-fitting mask that makes it hard to breathe, and that leaves a bruise on the bridge of our nose, and marks where the straps cut into our faces. A face shield, heavy, hot boots, a hair net, and gown. Yet, we press on for 12 hour shifts, for a month straight, being mindful that our patients need us, and we need them. We need to be part of the solution. We know the need is there, so we can't look away and pretend we don't see. So we face our fear, face the long day ahead. We hear the sirens of the Italian ambulances all day and all night. Each one carries another victim of the silent killer. We pause to pray.

The world stands together during this time. The virus exposes more than we could have ever thought. It exposes people with hearts to help, or hearts to hurt. We can all do something to make a diference and make things better. We sit in the tension of gratitude and sorrow. Gratitude that we have the opportunity to help use our medical skills to save lives and bring dignity and compassion. And the sorrow of the patients we lost to this virus. They matter. They aren't just a statistic of the casualty of COVID-19. They are wives, husbands, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, aunts. They were loved and won't be forgotten. We had the blessing of holding their hands and loving them.

You have to decide how you are going to meet the moment.

DR. LEEDA RASHID PHYSICIAN @ ALAMEDA HEALTH SYSTEM ALAMEDA, CA

DR. LEEDA RASHID PHYSICIAN, ALAMEDA HEALTH SYSTEM

When expecting a child, you prepare yourself for a new reality. With the COVID-19 Pandemic, a very difficult and unexpected reality is what Dr. Leeda Rashid has had to face, as a mother to a 14-month old, a wife to an ER physician and a practicing physician herself caring for patients on a daily basis.

ALLIÉ: As a hospital physician, married to an ER doctor and expecting your second little one, I can’t imagine how difcult this pandemic must be for you. I’m sure the struggle is very real. Did you ever imagine you would have to deal with something like COVID-19? LEEDA: When I finished medical school, I struggled to know that much like my patients our health system might be vulnerable. I then completed a master's in public health learning how to strengthen those systems. I never really thought I would be at a point where those worlds collided so drastically. Now as a doctor and public health expert, I find myself constantly battling between caring for my patients and caring for my community, and its especially hard when sometimes those world's diverge. For example, I've found it very hard to see sick patients, especially those that I know will not make it, die alone. I don't want them to be alone in their last days but I also don't want to risk that their families will visit and get sick themselves. I always knew being a doctor was going to be a hell of a rewarding but tough job. Right now, in this pandemic, it sometimes just seems too hard.

MEET LEEDA REALITIES AREN’T WHAT THEY USED TO BE

ALLIÉ: Being pregnant isn’t easy. Pregnant during a pandemic makes it that more difcult. For expecting mothers, what advice do you have? What additional precautions should be taken? What words of comfort and confidence as an expecting mother yourself do you have to share?

LEEDA: Being pregnant and working in a hospital has been incredibly emotional. Pregnancy (besides all its nausea) is supposed to be a time of such great joy and hope. And yet COVID-19 has made a lot of us moms-to-be supremely anxious. What happens if we catch the disease? Could I possibly get my unborn child sick? Can I deliver safely in a hospital? I think these are questions we grapple with because unfortunately we still don't know enough about this virus.

To my moms-to-be out there, I want you to know that the scientific community is doing all it can to find these answers for you and quickly! I plan on delivering at the same hospital and with the same OB, I delivered my first with no hesitation because working in the hospital, I know firsthand how much each doctor, nurse and healthcare staf member is doing (despite risks to themselves) to be sure everyone is cared for and safe.

And finally, I want to tell my moms-to-be that you still deserve ALL the joy and hope that pregnancy brings. Our littles are going to come into a world that seems a bit chaotic right now, but as we have all done in the past with millions of other women, parents and caregivers, we will bring them in with the love, strength, and hope that they deserve.

Now for some practical information and tips: • Please continue to strictly follow hand hygiene, social distancing and masking rules to the degree possible.

• Don't travel for a babymoon especially in light of the fact that we don't really have all of the information right now both about community spread and immunity within our own cities and certainly outside of the country.

• Thankfully, right now there is no evidence that being pregnant puts you at greater risk of getting COVID-19 or developing severe disease.

• The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) made recommendations that testing of pregnant women should be the priority if they are suspected of having COVID-19 or become ill.

• ACOG is also recommending that you keep getting your routine prenatal care. So, it’s important to call your OB’s ofce and see how they are modifying visits for you. They may be doing tele-visits among other types of modifications to care for you and your baby such as buying blood pressure monitors for home, monitoring your baby's movements daily, or changing a testing schedule for your prenatal blood work.

• In terms of breastfeeding, currently, the major concern is not whether it can be passed in breastmilk (though the data is still limited) but rather if a mom who is positive for coronavirus might accidentally transmit the virus through respiratory droplets. You should discuss breastfeeding as well with your OB and/or your pediatrician and see if there are safer alternatives such as pumping.

Our littles are going to come into a world that seems a bit chaotic… but we will bring them in with the love, strength, and hope that they deserve.

DR. LEEDA RASHID PHYSICIAN @ ALAMEDA HEALTH SYSTEM ALAMEDA, CA