“My dating and sex life became nonexistent. Work at a Covid ICU was just so crazy. I was pretty leery about interacting with people. No matter how much PPE I wear, there’s always the concern that I can bring it home. It’s been terrible, taking care of sick, dying people. Guys would try and hang out, and after a long shift I’m not emotionally available. My job is to take care of people that are dying younger than me, having to call their parents. After somebody dies, I’ll just sit and cry sometimes. I don’t feel sexy. My nice bras are collecting dust in my underwear drawer.


“During the summer of 2020, if I would want to meet up with somebody, I would screen them first to make sure this person is actually interesting, because working 55 hours a week, I only get a day or two off here or there. I’ve gotten so thirsty for some of these doctors at the hospital. It’s so much fun to look at the eye candy. They’re stressed, we’re stressed. At least we have something in common.


“One guy I was talking with was like, ‘I made dinner reservations.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s probably been over a year since somebody made dinner reservations for me.’ My emotional side is saying, ‘I’m sure he’s going to pay and he’s going to treat you like a lady and you get to dress up.’ And then the other half of me is like, ‘What the f— are you thinking? You could get Covid from this person.’


“I met an ER doctor on Tinder. We ended up having sex. I have more of an innate trust with a medical professional, as opposed to somebody just living at home on a computer all day. I didn’t feel like I was going to get anything or like anything bad was going to happen. It felt like old times. We talked about work, and it was a nice venting session.


“I’m vaccinated now. My threshold’s dropped a little bit. I feel a lot better. I’m looking forward to going back out and meeting people outside of medicine.”