Letter: ‘I wear a mask to keep you safe’

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Surgeons, surgical nurses, and surgical technicians all don masks when entering the operating room. Is it to protect themselves, or is it to protect the patient? It’s to protect the patient from any germs/diseases the medical team may have.

Do health care workers ever wear masks, gowns, shields and other such gear to protect themselves? Yes. My first round of clinicals as a student nurse at Ohio State University saw me working on an infectious disease unit. We masked and gowned up before entering the unit. We followed a strict protocol when removing the protective gear. We were striving to protect ourselves, but we also gave a measure of protection to the people for whom we were caring just in case we were infected with some pathogen. It was such a small inconvenience to keep ourselves and our patients safe.

I wear a mask to keep you safe. Won’t you please do the same for me? This is what love does. (“Love one another as I have loved you … ”)

Toni Weaver

McHenry