It is August 2020.

You arrive at the hospital and make your way to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). You review your case load. Your patients today are 30 to 80 years of age and have severe illness from COVID-19. It is unclear whether they will survive.

Your job is to help your patients breathe and breathe in a way that improves their oxygen levels. This may involve positioning, using a device with high flow oxygen or other breathing techniques. For those that show signs of recovery, you may start early rehabilitation (when it is safe to do so) to maintain muscle strength and function.

To minimise your risk of infection, you wear full personal protective gear and where possible you treat your patients in negative pressure rooms and hoods.

You are a specialist ICU physiotherapist in the midst of the 2020 Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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As a physiotherapist who has colleagues working on the frontline in ICU, I am acutely aware of the incredible contribution that our specialist physiotherapists are making in the current challenging circumstances. While most of us feel powerless to help our health workers, there are things we can do.

This initiative aims to show community support for our specialist ICU physiotherapists, thank them for their expertise, dedication and courage in these challenging times, and assist with physiotherapy COVID-19 research.

PLEASE JOIN US WITH THESE TWO SIMPLE STEPS:

1.     FREE EVENT: Walk or run 1km AND email in a photo of you or an aspect of your run/walk. Your photo will be included in Tribute Walls for our physiotherapists. Photos accepted until 13th September. REGISTER BELOW.  Email: tribute4physios@gmail.com.
 
2.     DONATE THE COST OF A COFFEE

Your support is needed to fund:
(i) Tribute Walls (a mosaic of your photos with an overlay of the Frontline Heroes Mural) that will presented to ICU physiotherapy teams.
(ii) research that is investigating the impact of physiotherapy in COVID-19 patients and the physiotherapy resources needed in a pandemic.

DONATE HERE: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-tribute-to-frontline-physiotherapists

Thank you for your involvement with this initiative - we sincerely appreciate your support and we look forward to receiving your photo and virtual cup of coffee!

Dont hesitate to contact us at tribute4physios@gmail.com if you require further information.