Angela Dauro

 

Artist: Diane Canney

 

I’m Angela Dauro. I started my career as a physician’s assistant in 2006 and I’ve worked in colorectal surgery for the last six years. When COVID-19 hit and surgeries were limited to emergencies, I transitioned to more outpatient colorectal and started with inpatient hospitalists. As we all know many people died with COVID-19 this past year. Their stories are heart-breaking, including the loss of a much loved nurse/coworker.

 

Like all of my colleagues, I’ve kept up-to-date on the latest information and distanced myself from family and friends. That’s been hard. I belong to a large Southern Italian family and we are very close. It’s been painful not to be able to hug my 92-year-old grandmother and other family members. We still stay in close touch with lots of phone calls and daily “I love yous” through glass windows. It helps, but it’s not the same.

 

In all the chaos, there is one silver lining. I’ve started a podcast, “OK, Karen?!”, with my best friend whose husband is an ER physician. We talk about happy things, and, for a brief time anyway, forget about the pandemic.

 

As we get closer to turning the corner I, pray for all my colleagues on the front lines, families who have lost loved ones, and all the others still fighting this disease. And I’m really looking forward to getting back to family gatherings!