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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are having to make tough decisions between their jobs and protecting their loved ones at home.

The challenges health care workers face don’t stop after their shifts end. The anxiety of possibly bringing something home with them is a constant worry.

They are the backbone to the health care system. The work they do has been crucial to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Indiana on Tuesday again topped its record high for hospitalizations. Hospitals statewide were treating 3,279 coronavirus patients, the Indiana State Department of Health reported Tuesday, and that’s more than a 300% increase since late September. Also Tuesday, the state reported it’s nearing another record for the most deaths in a single month, with 103 new deaths noted Tuesday, pushing November’s total to 991 deaths, or 50 fewer deaths than Indiana’s high for all of April. An additional 5,700 Hoosiers also have tested positive, the state said Tuesday.

Bruce and Danniel Tutterow are both health care workers. Bruce works as a LifeLine critical care transport nurse. Danniel, is a computed tomography technologist at IU Health Methodist Hospital. Both are reminded daily of the dangers of the coronavirus.

“I think the most stressful part is how quickly things are changing and evovling,” Danniel said.

They’re parents to a 5-year-old girl named Harley. Bruce’s dad has multiple sclerosis, and Danniel’s sister has asthma. They both provide child care for Harley while Bruce and Danniel are at work.

To protect the whole family, they’ve taken extra precautions at work and at home. They started cleaning their cars weekly, changing clothes in the garage, and other safety practices.

Bruce said, “You never want to be that person that brings it home to your family. You never want to be that person that gives it to anyone in your famiily, or circle of family that you utilize to help take care of your daughter.”

The Tutterows want the community to know the coronavirus pandemic isn’t just about their family but the health and well-being of all the people risking their lives on the front lines and their families .

Danniel said, “Wear a masks, lead with grace and kindness, especially with the holiday season coming up. We have no idea the struggles other people are going through.”

Now that the vaccine is closer to becoming a reality, Bruce and Danniel said, they do plan to take it when they get an opportunity.

Coronavirus links

Indiana coronavirus timeline

With information from the Indiana Department of Health through March 4, 2021, this timeline reflects updated tallies of deaths and positive tests prior to that date.