Raw and Real: Photos From the Front Line at St. Peter’s Hospital

The other morning while checking out Instagram, I saw the usual daily dose of lockdown jokes, weight loss goals and dog pictures.  After a few minutes of scrolling, something out of the ordinary caught my eye.

It was the IG page of a really dear friend, Shannon Galuski.  Shannon and I go way back.   We met and became acquaintances at least 15 years ago though fundraisers for the St. Peter's Hospital Foundation and ALS events but soon after, a real friendship was formed.  Over the years we've bonded over our love (and utter disgust) for the Dallas Cowboys, celebrated milestone birthdays, talked plenty of country music (lately especially) and got way too drunk at New Years Eve parties.

When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was the first person I called to get advice on various hospital treatments.  My family is eternally grateful for her professionalism, compassion, and altruistic ways.

Shannon has devoted her life to her family, her friends and her work and I think I know her pretty well.  But when I saw her IG post from earlier in the week, I felt like I saw Shannon - and the work she does at St. Peters - in a whole different light.  Captured brilliantly by talented photographer Dino Petrocelli, these images of health care workers taken behind the walls at St. Peter's Hospital are heartbreaking, beautiful, chilling and sobering.   But like any great imagery, impossible to ignore.  Shannon praised the work of Petrocelli on her Instagram post exalting him for his terrific work on what she says was just a few minutes notice.

Shannon has once again opened my eyes.  This time to the raw emotion our health care providers are facing on a daily basis.  These incredible photos stopped me in my tracks and forced me to pause and think about the real heroes on these front lines.  Leaving their families behind, putting themselves at harms risk because of their want, desire, and need to help people.

I personally would like to thank Dino for allowing me to share these photos with you in an effort to give you a glimpse of what our local heroes in the medical world experience daily, during these uncharted times.

Please give (anything you can afford) to the Covid Emergency Fund at St Peter's Hospital to help the men and women working to keep us alive on the front lines during this pandemic.   To make a doantion, go to www.givetostpeters.org

To view the rest of Dino's incredible photos, scroll through his Instagram page