Image by Lowell Sun
06/03/2020
Lowell Sun
By Meg McIntyre
LOWELL 鈥� There鈥檚 not much in life that Elizabeth and Katherine Conole haven鈥檛 gone through together.
The 25-year-old fraternal twins, who share a house in Tyngsboro, have been side by side through high school, college and now their careers as nurses at Lowell General Hospital. And for the past few months, they鈥檝e also been taking on a new challenge together 鈥� caring for COVID-19 patients on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the public health emergency, Elizabeth Conole worked on the hospital鈥檚 progressive care unit, while Katherine Conole was assigned to the cardiac unit. Now, they鈥檙e primarily working with coronavirus patients and stepping up to help out in intensive care when necessary.
鈥淎 lot has changed,鈥� Elizabeth Conole said recently. 鈥淭he acuity of patients has been increasingly high. We鈥檝e had two extra ICUs open, and since we鈥檙e stepdown level nurses, we鈥檝e had to float down to the ICUs and help out, which can be a little stressful because you鈥檙e not an ICU nurse. But we鈥檙e willing to help be a part of the team to take care of the patients.鈥�
The twins鈥� careers in nursing have been a long time in the making. They grew up in Dracut in a 鈥渉ealth care family,鈥� as they describe it. Their father is a retired Dracut firefighter and their mother was a mental health counselor. Their goal of becoming nurses stretches all the way back to their preschool graduation, they explained, when they announced they鈥檇 be working in the profession someday.
After graduating from Dracut High School in 2012, both sisters studied nursing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and went on to work on the same unit for nearly two years at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. They came to work at Lowell General 鈥� the hospital they were born in 鈥� in June 2018.
In recent weeks, the hospital鈥檚 atmosphere has been marked by 鈥渁 lot of death,鈥� the twins said, noting that their role of updating family members has become even more important in a time when visitation is strictly limited. Katherine Conole recalled a recent moment when she and another nurse were frantically trying to get video chat to work on a patient鈥檚 phone as he was being transferred to the ICU to be intubated.
鈥淚n the moment it was 鈥� these patients tend to recover, but you never know,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o that could have been the last time he talks to his wife.鈥�
The sisters said there have also been positive moments, from the frequent food deliveries on their floors to drive-by parades celebrating hospital staff, which they said have been nice reminders that the community appreciates the work they鈥檙e doing.
鈥淚f you haven鈥檛 sat down or taken your mask off in like six hours, a cold Gatorade makes a difference,鈥� Katherine Conole said.
At their home in Tyngsboro, the sisters take time for themselves outside of the hospital by going for bike rides and tending to their vegetable garden. They twins said it鈥檚 been helpful to have each other for support and understanding when they are going through similar experiences at work, though they also try to stagger their shifts to ensure each of them gets alone time when they need it.
They noted that, despite the stress, they鈥檙e proud of the work they鈥檙e doing at Lowell General.
鈥淎s physically and emotionally challenging as the last couple of weeks have been, I couldn鈥檛 imagine myself doing anything else in this pandemic situation or with a different team,鈥� Katherine Conole said.
鈥淚 always knew how important nurses are, but it鈥檚 just been so eye-opening how valuable they are to the care team. We鈥檙e the ones going in the rooms most often,鈥� Elizabeth Conole added.
鈥淚鈥檝e just been really grateful for nursing and my team and how we鈥檝e been able 鈥� even under challenging circumstances 鈥� we鈥檝e been able to deliver passionate and great care to these patients.鈥�