ASHLEY APPLE: You know, I told a friend the other day
that this was the way I operationalized
my COVID anxiety.
All of this nervous energy and not really sort
of knowing what to expect and what comes next,
can be really disconcerting.
And then taking on a project like this
that takes a lot of work and a lot of drive
and a lot of focus, it was a really good way for me
to sort of channel all of that nervous energy to something
that was really positive and really meaningful.
This was absolutely an investment in my mental health
and well-being.
I'm Ashley Apple.
I'm an ER nurse.
I've been in ER nurse for a long time.
I work for Bon Secour Mercy Health in Richmond.
I just finished the family nurse practitioner program at UVA.
And I'm in the DNP program now.
It has definitely highlighted some of the scarier
parts of the profession.
But at the same time, it's also really highlighted
some of the amazing parts of the profession,
like being able to step in and save the day in a way.
You know, to be brave, and to show up, and to do
the jobs that we were trained to do,
and that we're really good at.
If not for the pandemic, I don't think any of it would be here.
We wouldn't have had the time to do it.
And probably like the, you know, the inspiration I don't think
would have been there as powerfully as it was.
I had to be creative, create several work arounds.
Which is very similar to ER nursing, tackling
tough problems that you don't always know exactly how to fix,
but you do.
You know, you work with what you've got.
And you do the best that you can.
And circumstances change.
You have to be adaptable.
I can definitely see similarities there.
And I can see similarities in that I'm really proud of what
we've created here.
And I think being an ER nurse for so many years,
and especially working during a pandemic,
makes you really proud for what you do.
It makes you really proud to be able to serve
the public in that way and to serve
your community in that way.
And I will say that the outpouring
of love and affection from the public towards frontline health
care workers has been tremendous.
And it's been really valuable through all of this,
as well as all the accolades I've
gotten for this chicken coop.
I'll take it.
I'll take all of it.