Lang Lang resident Sarah Cochrane has witnessed the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as an ICU nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. A front line worker, Sarah shares what it has been like raising three young children while working a very thankless and taxing job, as JAMIE SALTER reports.
Sarah Cochrane’s move to Lang Lang helped her immensely with her mental health as a front line worker.
Sarah hasn’t always lived in the country, she grew up in Keysborough and went to school at Dingley Primary, then Killester College before completing her Bachelor of Nursing and Applied Science Psychology at Deakin University’s Waterfront campus.
At the start of the pandemic Sarah’s husband Mitch was asked to join his cousin on the market garden in Lang Lang – PJ and J Cochrane Farming.
This led the move from their home in Lyndhurst to a 30 acre Lang Lang property in 2020.
“We were looking at making the change and my husband and I both wanted land – it’s going really well,“ Sarah said.
Sarah made the move while pregnant with her third child Madison, sister to Scarlett, 4, and Michael, 6.
In 2011, Sarah started her nursing career at St Vincent’s where she still works to this day.
There was a call for any staff who could work during the pandemic so Sarah went back to work as a casual about a year ago while still on maternity leave.
“Mum helped me look after the kids while I went back to work because they needed help,“ Sarah said.
“During the second wave St Vincent’s was part of the northern cluster so our whole ICU was transformed into a Covid-ICU and then our ICU patients were in our recovery bay and then we had another ICU which was for suspected Covid-19 patients – it was completely different.
“It was really real, I was pregnant with Maddy so I wasn’t allowed in the Covid-ICU but I was in the suspected one wearing full PPE.“
She said it was eye-opening to witness how sick patients really got, and how quickly they got sick.
“I was also seeing staff so fatigued from the emotional toll of having patients die. We had a patients family where his grandfather, grandmother and sister died.
“They had no family who could come in, so we were their main support.“
Sarah watched as Victoria tried to make sense of the highly infectious Delta variant.
“Young people who refused the vaccine who were fit and healthy were so sick – it was very raw,“ Sarah said.
Sarah also suffered abuse from patients who didn’t believe they had Covid-19 or who were paranoid that the nurses would give them a Covid-19 vaccine without their knowledge.
Living in the country town of Lang Lang, many local residents felt they were out of reach from the pandemic.
“When I’ve seen the reality of it and people were saying it was a common cold I would just have to stay quiet,“ she said.
Sarah was extremely worried she would give Covid-19 to her parents or her young children.
To cope with the stresses of the job, Sarah would talk to her husband along with mental health staff at the hospital.
“We have a nice working team at St V’s and that’s why I’ve stayed there so long even though I travel so far – they’re like a family to me,“ she said.
“Being out of a farm in fresh air with my kids really helped because we had so much acreage to walk around which was really good for my mental health.“
Sarah’s coworkers who lived in Melbourne apartments struggled to deal with the lockdowns and not being able to see their families.
“Moving to Lang Lang at the start of the pandemic was the best thing I ever did and it did a world of good for my kids,“ she said.
“You can see a million stars in the night sky and not have road traffic and just get outside.
“Lots of friends of mine, their children are dealing with anxiety now.“
Sarah’s caring nature also helps her community as she gets involved in her children’s preschools.
While Michael was attending Lang Lang Preschool Sarah would always put her hand up to help with fundraisers and other activities.
She has also joined the Bayles Preschool Parents Committee as the secretary.
“I’m used to juggling as a nurse so just because I have kids, it doesn’t mean I can’t help,“ she said.
She said there was a lot of community spirit in Lang Lang which has worked to boost her morale.
“They’re just genuine people and you feel like you’re part of a community and that people care,“ she said.
“I never would have thought we would end up in Lang Lang but it’s worked out for the better.“
Looking to the future for her industry, Sarah said the strain on the hospital system was “horrible“ and something needed to be done.
“Because of the effects of Covid-19 and the strain on our health system we would get patients late and they would have a poor outcome because they didn’t have early intervention,“ she said.
“Patients have passed away when it could have been avoidable.“
She said a large quantity of staff have left the profession entirely.
