Hayley Wickenheiser’s Message to Canadians From the Front Line

Canadian hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser took her Instagram followers inside a Toronto hospital, where she’s spending long days as part of her final year of medical school, to remind people of the importance of wearing a mask.

With Covid-19 infections surging in Alberta and B.C. and rising again in Ontario, the four-time Olympic gold-medalist wrote an impassioned post about “pandemic fatigue” and what she’s seeing on the front lines.

“I saw a patient the other day. A rather young person who spent 3 months in ICU due to the effects of Covid 19. Not sure they will ever recover to full function,” she wrote in the post.  “I hear this banter about masks. I wear a mask 5 days a week from anywhere from 7 to 20 hours a day depending on my days. …The science tells us they help stop the spread.

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A post shared by Hayley Wickenheiser (@hchickwick) on Jul 19, 2020 at 6:02pm PDT

“I wear a mask for my parents and loved ones, my patients and anyone I don’t know who may be at increased risk,” she goes on to say. “At the risk of giving medical advice, I’ll wade into this one wholeheartedly because lives are at stake: Please wear a mask when appropriate. Please think of others, help stop the spread and save lives. We have a long way to go.”

This isn’t the first time Wickenheiser’s used her platform to address the fallout from Covid-19. Here’s the full text from the post (which you can also see here):

“I took this pic the other day after spending 26 hours straight in the hospital.

I have this sense people are getting tired. ‘Pandemic Fatigue’ seems like a real thing. In the hospital, we are seeing high rates of mental health, domestic abuse, overdoses and withdrawals. People are coming in sicker than they should be, because they are waiting too long, afraid to go to hospital. It all amounts to people facing a lot of stress and fatigue. Life as we know it has changed forever.

I’m tired too. Like all of my fellow clerks, we are trying to get through our last year of medicine.

My days are long. Like everyone else right now, I juggle a lot of things day to day. My brain feels like it might explode every day with so much info to learn and what seems like so little time to do it.

On top of this, there is the extra layer of PPE. I think I wash my hands sometimes 75-100 times a day. It’s always in the back of my mind I am at high risk given what I do. I am not afraid, but I am on high alert.

I saw a patient the other day. A rather young person who spent 3 months in ICU due to the effects of Covid 19. Not sure they will ever recover to full function.

Then I hear this banter about masks. I wear a mask 5 days a week from anywhere from 7 to 20 hours a day depending on my days. I take it off to eat, to go outside and when I am not needing to distance. The science tells us they help stop the spread.

I dislike wearing the mask, it’s annoying and hot at times. But here is the thing, wearing a mask has nothing to do with your personal freedoms being taken away or not. Wearing a mask is simply about protecting yourself and others.

I wear a mask for my parents and loved ones, my patients and anyone I don’t know who may be at increased risk.

I am really proud to go to the hospital every day and I see how hard everyone is working to stay safe and protect each other.

At the risk of giving medical advice, I’ll wade into this one wholeheartedly because lives are at stake: Please wear a mask when appropriate. Please think of others, help stop the spread and save lives. We have a long way to go. The only way through is together.”

Next: 9 Rules to Follow For a Safe (Even Fun!) Outdoor Barbecue During Covid-19.