Carroll County, MD CCG 24 News, 31 Mar 2022

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From YouTube: Kimm Benedict - Hero of Carroll Hospital

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My name is kim benedict and I am a respiratory therapist. I work at carroll hospital.

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And I have been there for a little over almost about two years now. I am a ex retire.

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Military wife and we traveled all over the world, and I was never able to find something just for.

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Me I went into the dental field years ago and I decided that there's just no way for me to move up.

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Unless I wanted to be a dentist, I really didn't want to be a dentist, so I started looking into.

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Different options of what I could do, and I felt like the best thing for me to do- was from the.

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Waist up because I don't like waist down and I decided that respiratory therapist was such a.

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Growing profession that I thought wow, maybe I'll, give a look into this, and I had some friends that.

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Were respiratory therapists and I would ask them about it and I thought wow being able.

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To help people breathe, that would feel like such an accomplishment, so I went to school for it and.

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While I was in school, I still wasn't sure. Is this what I really want to do, but once I hit clinicals.

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I was like this is it this is my job. I want to care for people. I want to help them. I want them.

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To breathe because you know ultimately, if we don't breathe, then we're not here, so I just thought it.

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Was a very rewarding career, so my first experience with covid was a little over two years ago and.

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I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

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I had heard on the news: I knew that something there was an outbreak of something coming.

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I thought myself like everyone else, maybe it's the common cold or it's the flu. We weren't really what.

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I wasn't really sure what to expect with it until it actually hit us and then once it hit us. I was.

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Just baffled by the way that it presented itself where a patient would come in and they'd be on.

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Room air and then all of a sudden they'd be on a little bit of oxygen. Then all of a sudden they'd.

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Be on a lot of oxygen and then we'd be moving up on all of our equipment so quickly, and I.

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Just thought wow, this thing is taking people out, so it's very scary. I didn't know what to expect.

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I didn't know how to keep myself clean and how to keep myself safe and to keep my family safe.

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When I would go home, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I had my husband well x now.

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But my husband moved to virginia to a different house because I didn't want him in my house.

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With me, because I just I didn't know- I didn't want to get anybody sick, so it was very scary.

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But also very, um we just had no clue what was going to happen with this and when they said a.

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Pandemic, I've never been in a pandemic before I've heard about the polio pandemic. I've heard about.

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Smallpox, I don't remember those, but I do remember this one and it was it's been tough. Well, the most.

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Rewarding part is saving a life, but this pandemic is being able to know that somebody got to go home.

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And they got to hear the coveted recovery song on their way out the doors that gives me chills.

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I work night shifts so I don't hear it a lot. But when I stay over and I work days- and I hear that.

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Song, I just say: yes, they did it, it is so awesome. It makes me so happy puts a smile on my face and.

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It's so gratifying to know that I was implementing in helping their care. I helped them, and so did all.

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The other respiratory therapists and the nurses and the doctors and the staff- and we did it in.

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The beginning, I thought oh, my gosh. They can't come up with a vaccine quick enough for this.

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But I've sat and I've watched it for two years and I personally didn't want the vaccine.

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But then, when I started seeing the patients on the ventilators and not making it, I thought to myself.

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Do I want to be selfish? Do I want my kids to have to make a decision to take me off a ventilator.

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Or would I rather do what I need to do do what I've asked been asked to do by the cdc or by.

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The hospital and if I do go on a ventilator I know I did everything I could possibly.

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Do to protect myself and that's what I want people to think about. I know that.

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Everybody there's just so many mixed theories of this this vaccine, but do yourself a favor.

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And get yourself vaccinated get yourself blizzard if you're elder in the elderly.

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Population, please do it because it's going to be a tough fight for you. It really is. If you get it.