The invitation is there, before his eyes: "Mr. President and Mrs. Brigitte Macron ask Mrs. Nlend to be good enough to attend the ceremony to be held on Tuesday July 14, 2020 at 10:30 am Place de la Concorde". Michelle Nlend, 39, is a nurse in the infectious diseases department of the Center Hospitalier Intercommunal Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (CHIV), in Val-de-Marne. She is one of 2,500 people invited to the military ceremony which will pay tribute to the carers on National Day. An "act of strong recognition towards caregivers" according to her.
The hospital's director of care wanted staff from the infectious diseases unit to attend the ceremony, and the choice fell on her. “I am very happy to go there, even if I would have liked to share this moment with colleagues. I'm going for them, for the CHIV, ”says the nurse.
"I couldn't see myself working in an office"
It is that she does not throw flowers when it comes to returning to the health crisis she has just gone through. She constantly recalls the teamwork provided by her colleagues.
However, his career has something to impress. “I wanted to be a nurse after a third internship in a clinic. These people in white coats were very attentive to the patients. ” After graduating with a bachelor's degree in geography, the young woman became a Hospital Service Agent (multi-skilled employee in a hospital) in 2004: “I couldn't see myself working in an office. Deep down, I knew I wanted to work with people. ”
Thirst for learning
In 2007, another event confirmed her desire to be a nurse. “I lost my father and I found the caregivers in the palliative care center of extreme humanity. A few years later, when she was the mother of a boy and already employed by the CHIV, she began nursing studies funded by her employer.
"I love to learn, and school does not scare me," asserts Michelle Nlend, a graduate in 2017. So much so that she thinks of doing a DUT of wounds and scarring, while working at CHIV, then, why not, a Master.
Back to a trying period
The period Michelle Nlend just went through was "difficult, psychologically and physically." "My generation did not know the war, but one can assimilate this crisis to a small war", she breathes. She speaks spontaneously of these “covid” cases that marked her, in a calm voice. “There was this teenage girl who learned of her mother's death. It was hard for me because I have a son too. I can still see her gaze, I don't know what she thought. "
"The fear factor could have stopped me, but my place was here during the crisis," insists the nurse, who nevertheless caught the virus. “I was very afraid, and I hid it from my family so as not to worry them. After a week of sick leave, the nurse returns to duty. She's holding on because most are doing well. “I remember an old lady who had all the factors to be swept away by the virus. I clung to her. She finally healed and that feels good. "
"The look on caregivers has changed"
“The way people look has changed since the epidemic. They're less aggressive on the phone, ”smiles Michelle Nlend. She praised the generosity of the French during this period, like the parents of her colleagues who cooked food for the nursing staff. “Sometimes we are even embarrassed, the families of the patients say lots of thanks! "
The negotiations under way to increase the salary of caregivers as part of the Segur de la santé, “it shows that things are moving! »Rejoices the nurse. With the humility that characterizes her, she does not fail to recall that other workers, non-caregivers, have also kept the country afloat at the height of the epidemic.
"It's a return to normal"
Despite her surgical mask screwed on her face, Michelle Nlend explains that she can "finally breathe" ... in the strict sense of the term. "We breathe because we no longer have to enter the rooms with several layers of protection, a mask, glasses ..." she slips. “The Covid-19 has destructured our practices, but we have been able to adapt to them. Now it's back to normal. "
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The wave has passed, but the memories remain. How does it face them? "Now I feel good. We were offered psychological support at CHIV, but I'm not for it. I heal alone, I play sports. "
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