PORTLAND, Ore — A sign of hope from the country's epicenter of the virus: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the number of coronavirus cases in the state appears to be on the decline.
An Oregon native is helping treat those cases, as an ER doctor on the front line of the fight against coronavirus in New York. Mary McLean is a Sunset High School grad with Beaverton roots.
She’s sending a message back to her West Coast community: we need to learn from her new East Coast home.
“It’s been really difficult to convey how serious it's been here in New York City,” McLean told KGW.
New York quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., with hospitals overwhelmed as they filled up with coronavirus patients and ran out of personal protective equipment.
“New York is just seeing tons of critical patients. Far and away more deaths than I've ever seen in the past. They're sad because family can't be there beside them. And that's not something I ever anticipated needing to struggle with, personally seeing,” McLean said.
McLean once had dreams of becoming a veterinarian, until she realized she could make a difference in human lives.
She went to medical school at OHSU and after emergency room rotations she knew what department she belonged in.
Flash forward to today, where Dr. McLean works inside an emergency room of a New York hospital amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"It’s scary,” she said. “Actually, being at work is kind of my comfort zone right now… it's a strange sensation because that's where the danger is. But, also, I find when I have a day off at home it just ... gives me this unease where I feel like I should be at the hospital doing something to help.”
At the end of those long shifts she returns to an empty home because her husband Jesus is in Oregon right now for his work and his safety.
"It’s both a blessing and a curse because I know I'm not going to get anyone at home infected if I am indeed carrying the virus. But on the other side, I have to get all of my emotional support virtually,” McLean said.
From what she's seen in there, McLean wants us all to understand that COVID-19 is still a very serious threat and we need to stay on our guard and take precautions.
The lives of those we love depend on it, she says.
“[I hope] they learn from what they're seeing and the numbers and statistics from New York and how bad it can get and how big of a difference it actually makes to stay home and to take it seriously," McLean said.