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However, she never anticipated having to deal with something like the coronavirus in her capacity as a registered nurse.

Zuck, who works in the neuroscience unit of the Regina General Hospital’s acute care department, has been spared some of the front-line challenges that other nurses deal with on a daily basis during the COVID-19 pandemic. That doesn’t mean she has avoided the heartbreak that is experienced while working in a hospital during a pandemic.

“It’s hard on everyone and not just the families,” Zuck said. “The patients are almost like in a prison because they get fed and they have some human interaction, but very minimal. The ones that are lucky enough to have tablets or iPads can FaceTime with their family.

“I never thought in my career that I would have to tell a daughter that she couldn’t see her dying father because she didn’t pass the screening. That was really hard for me and you never think that you would see a world-wide pandemic.”

Zuck is somewhat removed from the front lines because COVID-19 patients are not under her care. The neuroscience unit provides specialized care for adults with neurological impairments or dysfunctions and also deals with patients suffering from strokes.

She does have to follow the protocols that are in place, including wearing a procedure mask at all times.

“The sweet part about it is people have been making and donating different kinds of ear savers,” said the 33-year-old Zuck. “The elastic behind your ears causes a lot of skin breakdown and pressure on your face. Some people have had family members make headbands with buttons over the top of your ears so you’re hooking the mask on the buttons to save your ears.”

Zuck and her boyfriend, Catlin Kezama, have a three-year old daughter, Rogan. Zuck is concerned about acquiring the coronavirus or spreading it to her family members. That’s why she follows a routine when she returns home after a 12-hour shift.

She brings home her nursing uniform in a waterproof bag and then throws it, along with the clothes she was wearing, into the washing machine. She showers and goes to bed.

“And I start over the next day,” Zuck said with a chuckle.

Zuck, who graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2009 with a bachelor of science in nursing, has been impacted in other ways by the coronavirus.

She has a master’s degree as a nurse practitioner and was scheduled to write her final licensing exam on May 6. The exam was postponed due to the pandemic. The next scheduled exam is in October.

On March 30, the Western Women’s Canadian Football League cancelled its 2020 season due to COVID-19. The WWCFL season usually runs from April through late June.

“At first, it didn’t really hit me because we were starting our indoor practices and we were just getting to know each other,” Zuck said. “Now the weather is nice, I’m not in football pads and I’m not seeing my only friends, so something is missing. The whole world is flipped around and everything seems surreal.”

Nurses have been referred to as heroes during the pandemic, but Zuck doesn’t think she’s doing anything heroic. She feels people who work in grocery stores are at more at risk, because they deal with hundreds of people every day.

“My job is kind of controlled because people aren’t coming and going out of my ward,” Zuck said. “The hospital is a ghost town right now (due to postponed surgeries) because the halls are empty. It’s very eerie, but I don’t feel like a hero. I’m just doing my job.”

Having said that, Zuck is proud of the province’s efforts toward combatting the spread of COVID-19.

“I really have to commend Saskatchewan for doing so well and really taking the physical distancing seriously compared to other parts of the world,” she said. “You can see with our numbers that we’re doing it and we’re flattening the curve.”