With four-year-old twin daughters, and a demanding job, Laura Elniski is one of many women juggling a very difficult schedule during the time of COVID-19.
Before the pandemic, she was the HIV and STI programme coordinator with the Health Services Authority. But in March last year, with a focus placed on COVID-prevention, she transferred to public health efforts to contain the spread of the virus in the Cayman Islands.
Initially, she was the public health nurse leading the George Town South response. Then, when mass screening was rolled out, she organised testing for all the parties involved.
Once home quarantine was introduced last October, she became responsible for arriving passengers being tested at the airport and when they finished isolating. This entailed collaboration and cooperation between entry and exit ports, Travel Cayman, Travel Support and HSA, dealing with flight logs and quarantine location lists – a lot of coordination and an almost 24/7 job.
Most recently, Laura has been overseeing travellers who tested positive for COVID-19, organising their tests and daily welfare checks – a seven-day-a-week responsibility.
“Over the last two years, COVID screening has been a massive undertaking for the HSA, involving many different teams and personnel,” says Laura. “I, and many others, have been working much longer hours than pre-COVID, and a lot of us are working seven days a week. The administration aspects are huge, as is the attention to detail which is necessary.”
Difficult balance
This has left little time to spend with husband, Aaron, and the couple’s little girls Charlotte and Riley, let alone any self-care time for Laura herself.
“Work-life balance? I don’t have it,” she says. “I would love to know how to get it while working in Public Health during a pandemic.”
Aaron looks after the twins at weekends when Laura is working, her parents also help, and she has a great nanny.
Nevertheless, she still experiences ‘mum guilt’.
“I think most mums face this, however it has especially plagued me throughout the pandemic,” she says. “It hurts my heart when I have to tell the girls I can’t do something with them because I have to work, be that working from home or going into the office. I have missed too many bedtimes and changed too many plans.”
Twin benefits
While having twins means twice the workload of having one child, Laura points out that during lockdown the girls had the benefit of each other for company.
“We’re just trying to look toward the light at the end of the tunnel, when the emergency processes we have in place won’t be necessary to protect the community,” she says.
Her top tip for other parents in similar demanding work situations is to ask for help and accept it.
“And a note to the fathers/friends: take photos of mum,” she says. “Proof of mum is sometimes limited to selfies, so please, especially new dads, take photos of mum and her little ones/big ones – oh and preferably flattering ones.”
Related Videos
