I want to write a letter of thanks for all the sacrifices you have made for our nation during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Thank you for all the lives you have saved.

Thank you for fighting to save all the lives that were lost.

Thank you for leaving your homes each day, not knowing if or when you will hold your children or see your spouse again.

Thank you for putting your lives at risk.

Thank you for battling this pandemic even when you did not have the personal protective equipment (PPE) or resources you needed.

Thank you to all the fathers and mothers who couldn’t see their children for weeks because it was too risky to expose them to you.

Thank you to all the spouses that had to stay apart to keep each other safe.

Thank you to all the sons and daughters who had to stay away from their parents because it was too risky to embrace them.

Thank you for consoling all those in pain and distress.

Thank you for consoling those who have lost loved ones.

Thank you for driving from store to store in the middle of the night, begging for PPE for your colleagues.

Thank you for sleeping at the hospital for days in order to care for patients.

Thank you for being the conscience of our nation.

Thank you for carrying this burden and all the tears that you have shed.

Thank you for the nights you have laid awake thinking about ways to deal with this pandemic.

Thank you for coming out of retirement to serve on the frontline.

Thank you for the piece of yourself that you have sacrificed in this battle.

Thank you for running toward danger when everyone’s instinct is to run away.

Thank you for never giving up.

Thank you for taking care of one another and your teams.

Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice with your lives and health for the greater good of society.

Thank you for making me proud to call myself an Emergency Physician.

My fellow emergency physicians, our nation, and society will always be indebted to you for the sacrifices you have made and the countless lives you have saved. We shall get through this crisis together—e pluribus unum.

Michael Ruzek is an emergency physician.

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