TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — There's a peaceful silence walking down the halls at Capital Regional Medical Center. But behind those doors, it's a different story.
"What interests me most about being a respiratory therapist is the ability to help patients."
Antwan Brooks is the Director of Cardiopulmonary Services at the medical center. He's also a respiratory therapist.
"We really come in at a critical point in their life where [patients] are struggling with breathing and were able to in a sort of way give them a breath of life and make sure they can breathe easier."
They're the unsung heroes of the pandemic. 35 pictures of the respiratory therapists who work here — hanging on the walls as a thank you for their sacrifice during Respiratory Therapist Week. It is a sacrifice that has a toll.
"We stood in the gap for our patients and their families during the toughest point during COVID. We banded together as a group together and did what we could to save as many lives as possible."
Treating patients as if they were family.
"We held the hands of patients as they were getting better. We celebrated with them as they got to leave and go back to their families. And we cried with their families when the unfortunate circumstances of them not making it."
It is a roller coaster of emotions that takes an entire team to navigate.
"So leaning on each other is how we get through these tough situations."
