Voices from the Edge.

Northeast Ohio essential workers on the frontlines of the pandemic

Images List

01

Flashing Images

Her strength was sapping away. The light was leaving her eyes. I felt a deep knowing in my bones of the inevitable.

Dr. Laura Miller
Emergency Medicine Physician

02

A COVID Death, July 2020

Later the social worker would tell me we do what we can to create comfort in the middle of a war.

Greta Monter
Homecare Nurse

03

Coping

How did I cope with so much death and defeat? I don’t know if I ever did.

Varun U. Shetty
Intensivist

04

Hope Blooms in Darkness: Finding Yourself in a Pandemic

Words ground me firmly upon this land, my hearth, and remind me that all is never lost.

Christen Lee
Certified Nurse Practitioner

05

Baby

Babies don’t know what they need, and don’t know how to ask for what they don’t know they need, so, they just cry.

Fatima Matar
Caregiver

06

Sunday morning, COVID unit

It dawns on me it’s the first person I’ve touched in the longest time.

Matt Dettmer
Physician

07

Healing Hope

I hate, most of all, that people see me as nothing more than a grocery worker.

Mikaila Manesh
Grocery Worker

08

Nuts and Bolts

My heart was fully invested in the mission of saving him—it became one of the biggest fights of my life.

Jennifer C. Miller
Palliative Care Nurse

09

Tomatoes

The trauma from COVID will never go away, yet I can fix the early trauma to a tomato that has blossom end rot.

Crystal L. Mielke
Critical Care Nurse

10

The Essential Worker

The patients were scared and I was scared. I didn’t know how to help them. And for the first time ever, there was no one to ask.

Milana Bogorodskaya
Infectious Diseases Physician

11

The Day Everything Changed

One of the longest lasting harms to come from the pandemic response was the erosion of public trust in science.

Dr. Jeannette Spreng
Physician

12

Masks I Have Worn

My husband and I work at hospitals and COVID is everywhere, could be anywhere.

Susan Hatters Friedman
Physician

13

All the Good Things

All the good things
They’re still here as the world comes back to life
We just have to remember to hold on to them.

Collaborative

14

Tour of Duty

I chose to feel honored and not bitter that I had a huge responsibility with the care of my mother; it made me more compassionate, understanding and accepting.

Cassandra Salahuddin
Care Giver

15

What I Lost (In the Pandemic)

There is always more work to be done, more people to call, more voices to hear. More space to hold for people suffering more than me.

Christine Young
Social Worker

16

A Deafening Silence Ever Present

I tried to imagine it many times
Her absence imprinted on my soul
The silence growing more poignant as time goes on

Lisa Scotese Gallagher
Healthcare Executive

17

Essential

How I stumbled across serenity during the pandemic with a shopping cart and a handheld barcode scanner

Ken Rogers
Grocery worker

18

Two Poems

You reminded me
of the early days
the first moments
our calls to action

Elisha Yin
Physician Assistant

19

The Decline

Everything I touched could expose me. Reflecting on that time I was anxious. I didn’t realize it then but I was. I think we all were.

Daren M. Douglas
Warehouse Transportation Manager

20

Loss Versus Hope in the War on COVID-19

What I’ve learned about hope is how you can finally breathe when someone hears you and understands your pain. You were trapped, and now you are free.

Collaborative

01

Flashing Images

Her strength was sapping away. The light was leaving her eyes. I felt a deep knowing in my bones of the inevitable.

Dr. Laura Miller

02

A COVID Death, July 2020

Later the social worker would tell me we do what we can to create comfort in the middle of a war.

Greta Monter

03

Coping

How did I cope with so much death and defeat? I don’t know if I ever did.

Varun U. Shetty

04

Hope Blooms in Darkness: Finding Yourself in a Pandemic

Words ground me firmly upon this land, my hearth, and remind me that all is never lost.

Christen Lee

05

Baby

Babies don’t know what they need, and don’t know how to ask for what they don’t know they need, so, they just cry.

Fatima Matar

06

Sunday morning, COVID unit

It dawns on me it’s the first person I’ve touched in the longest time.

Matt Dettmer

07

Healing Hope

I hate, most of all, that people see me as nothing more than a grocery worker.

Mikaila Manesh

08

Nuts and Bolts

My heart was fully invested in the mission of saving him—it became one of the biggest fights of my life.

Jennifer C. Miller

09

Tomatoes

The trauma from COVID will never go away, yet I can fix the early trauma to a tomato that has blossom end rot.

Crystal L. Mielke

10

The Essential Worker

The patients were scared and I was scared. I didn’t know how to help them. And for the first time ever, there was no one to ask.

Milana Bogorodskaya

11

The Day Everything Changed

One of the longest lasting harms to come from the pandemic response was the erosion of public trust in science.

Dr. Jeannette Spreng

12

Masks I Have Worn

My husband and I work at hospitals and COVID is everywhere, could be anywhere.

Susan Hatters Friedman

13

All the Good Things

All the good things They’re still here as the world comes back to life We just have to remember to hold on to them.

Collaborative

14

Tour of Duty

I chose to feel honored and not bitter that I had a huge responsibility with the care of my mother; it made me more compassionate, understanding and accepting.

Cassandra Salahuddin

15

What I Lost (In the Pandemic)

There is always more work to be done, more people to call, more voices to hear. More space to hold for people suffering more than me.

Christine Young

16

A Deafening Silence Ever Present

I tried to imagine it many times Her absence imprinted on my soul The silence growing more poignant as time goes on

Lisa Scotese Gallagher

17

Essential

During the pandemic, I stumbled across serenity while pushing a blue shopping cart and zapping barcodes with a handheld scanner.

Ken Rogers

18

Two Poems

You reminded me of the early days the first moments our calls to action

Elisha Yin

19

The Decline

Everything I touched could expose me. Reflecting on that time I was anxious. I didn’t realize it then but I was. I think we all were.

Daren M. Douglas

20

Loss Versus Hope in the War on COVID-19

What I’ve learned about hope is how you can finally breathe when someone hears you and understands your pain. You were trapped, and now you are free.

Collaborative

Voices from
the Edge.

About

Northeast Ohio essential workers on the frontlines of the pandemic

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Support

Voices from the Edge is made possible through the generous support of the Andrews Foundation, the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, and Neighbor Up.

Program partners include the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Greater Cleveland Nurses Association, Cleveland Emergency Medical Services, Cleveland Division of Firefighters, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Agency, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

Special thanks to project coordinator Christopher Johnston, to workshop instructors Lisa Langford, Vince Robinson, and Logan Smith, to copyeditor Karen Lohman, to designers at Each + Every, and to Christine Howey and Matt Weinkam for creating and developing the program.