As her school-aged young patients look up at indistinguishable faces covered by PPE, Combs pulls up a pant leg of her scrub to show her own socks. Sometimes they’re mismatched, sometimes they’re covered in animals. And if she’s wearing her favorite, they have sushi.
The unrelenting nature of the pandemic has overwhelmed health care workers across the country. And for those in pediatric care, they’ve had to overcome many new obstacles. For some, it’s making children feel comfortable in an intimidating environment. For others, it’s navigating the stress of a child’s diagnosis on top of the family’s financial insecurity. And many providers are struggling to adapt virtual visits for patients who can’t always describe what they are feeling.
“I am here to work with people, work with kids, treat them, make them feel better in the fullest sense of the word,” Combs said. “If that means I have…
