Fishers woman’s snacks support health care workers on COVID-19 front lines
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Tracey Pendlum of Fishers is celebrating a special anniversary this year: 2020 is another year for her to remember she’s a survivor.
“Four years ago I got pneumonia and I was admitted into the hospital,” she said. “While I was in the hospital, I developed into ARDS, which is acute respiratory distress. My lungs started to fail, so they decided to put me on life support.”
Pendlum said she will never forget the time she almost died, but, more than that, she’ll always remember the team that saved her life at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis. They were the same people who have been forced to deal with the unprecedented pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not just people on the outside that are suffering,” she said. “There are health care workers that are putting their lives at risk.”
She says after having conversations with a friend in the field, she can tell the job isn’t just taking a physical toll. “It’s emotionally and mentally draining on them when they leave their shifts,” Pendlum said.
When Pendlum pulled up her Facebook page she was met with a memory of the intensive care units’ team at Community North. She said she believes it was a sign that she needed to do something to help support her heroes. The question was how.
She knew who to ask, her good friend “Courtney,” an ICU nurse on the front lines of the pandemic who took care of Pendlum when she was sick. “She and I bonded in the hospital, and I consider her my angel,” she said. “I called her and said, ‘What can I do for you guys?’ She said basically we need snacks and caffeine.”
Pendlum made a few calls and made a post on her neighborhood Facebook page and soon the sweets and sodas started rolling in. Even though she was just trying to get support for Community Hospital North, the stories spread on social media and word got out about what they were doing. Next thing they knew, they were helping delivering treats to hospital workers in Indianapolis, Carmel Noblesville and more locations.
She says she wants the hospital staffs to know one thing. “People care and are thinking about them,” Pendlum said. “It’s just showing them how much we appreciate their help.”
Health care workers have sent Pendlum pictures with their favorite snacks in an effort to say thank you.
Pendlum is encouraging her neighbors to keep donating to the hospital staff in her community and for others to start snack drives for health care workers in their own neighborhoods.