This is My Silver Lining - Long COVID: Compassion and Resilience with Infectious Disease Doctor, Evangeline Thibodeau

Long COVID: Compassion and Resilience with Infectious Disease Doctor, Evangeline Thibodeau

06/19/22 • 54 min

It has been a long two years. Correction: two-plus years. We’re all exhausted by the unending wait for this COVID 19 pandemic to be over. Our guest, Dr. Evangeline Thibodeau feels the same way. She’s a mom of three living in a small town on the coast of Maine. But Evangeline doesn’t have the luxury of turning off the news and forgetting about COVID for a few hours. She’s been in the thick of it all longer than most of us, and still is. She is the person that this small town turns to for guidance as everyone tries to live with this virus and adapt to a new normal. Imagine enjoying a Saturday morning soccer game at your daughter’s school as parents casually (or not so casually) ask questions like, “Is it safe for me to visit my parents for Christmas?” “Do we really need to wear masks?” No pressure!

Evangeline likens her role to someone who is flying an airplane while they are still trying to put the wings on. We talk with her about the challenges of being the “expert” while the information available is constantly changing.

Although she has every reason to, Evangeline doesn’t focus on the burnout. In fact, she’s grateful for the lessons that these past two years have taught her. When it is so easy to judge someone who doesn’t see eye to eye with you, she has learned to be more understanding and compassionate. She has become resilient instead of exhausted. She has cherished the extra time with her family, and even tells us about a new sport they all learned together. . . and it’s not a sport that naturally comes to mind when you think about the great state of Maine! For Evangeline, the pandemic has been a reminder of why she entered the medical field in the first place: to treat people whose health is suffering with kindness, dignity and compassion.

If an infectious disease doctor in the midst of a global pandemic can find the silver linings. . . so can you. Tune in to hear more.
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Support this podcast by subscribing and reviewing.

Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.

Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.

If an infectious disease doctor in the midst of a global pandemic can find the silver linings. . . so can you. Tune in to hear more.
Support the podcast by subscribing and reviewing!

Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.

Support this podcast by subscribing and reviewing.

Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.

Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.

Previous Episode

Trailer: Welcome to This is My Silver Lining

It’s true that you never really know what someone else might be going through. But just think about what might happen if we did; how we might treat each other with more patience and compassion. The world needs us to take a step back and listen to one another. We hope that you are as inspired as we are by these stories of the people you might pass on the sidewalk each day; about what inspires them to take chances, to be kind, and to find gratitude despite the obstacles that they face.

Each week, This is My Silver Lining shines a light on some extraordinary ordinary people as they share their stories of courage, resilience, determination, and how they manage to find silver linings through it all.
Listen to and follow This is My Silver Lining on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or anywhere else you find your podcasts so you can get every show as soon as it is released each week. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. If you have a silver lining you'd like to share, leave us a message on our website, thisismysilverlining.com, where you'll find shownotes and more information.

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Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.

Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.

Next Episode

Kindness 9-1-1: Chanda Brodnax-Nino on How Being Laid Off Led to the Start of a Successful Business and Fulfilling a Life-Saving Calling

Being laid off from her longtime position running an emergency medicine training program at a large suburban hospital, Chanda tells us how this setback (with the help of an inspiring letter from a former student) ultimately inspired her to launch her own business, the EMS Institute of Fairfield County (the “Institute”).

Chanda talks about how she hopes to inspire young Black women. When she was growing up, she didn’t see any Black women entering the field of emergency medicine. She knows directly the power of if you can see it, you can be it.

Chanda discusses how and why she puts her students through the “212 teaching Method;” teaching her students to give more than just the bare minimum. At 211°, Chanda explains, water is really hot. But add just one more degree, and that water is boiling, emitting steam and enough energy to power a locomotive. She motivates her students to give that one extra degree, which can make all the difference. Chanda’s classes are really hard, but her students unanimously agree that, as a result, they are better trained than many of their peers to handle life-critical situations.

Chanda emphasizes the importance of knowing CPR, “an easy life-saving skill that you can learn in less than 2 hours.” She shares a story of two cardiac arrest patients who arrived in the emergency room one Thanksgiving evening: one had received immediate CPR from a trained family member and walked out of the hospital that night. The other only received CPR upon arriving at the emergency room, where Chanda did CPR for 43 minutes. Sadly, that patient did not survive. Every second counts in emergency response; acting quickly can mean the difference between life and death.

Chanda is not your typical teacher and her story isn’t just about teaching the basics of CPR. Kindness is part of the curriculum. Not only does she encourage her students to be kind to one another, she asks that they share at least one nice thing about each other at the end of class. While her day job is focused on life-saving, Chanda teaches (and learns from) her students the ways in which kindness can be life-changing.

Episode Resources:

EMS Institute of Fairfield County: https://emsinsfc.com/212° the Extra Degree: https://www.inspireyourpeople.com/212-the-extra-degree/Chanda Brodnax-Nino Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chanda-brodnax-nino-370886125/

Support the podcast by subscribing and reviewing!
Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.

Support this podcast by subscribing and reviewing.

Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.

Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.