Humans Of Support

Meet Susan Kotyk, today's Human Of Support!

What do you do and how long have you done this?

My name is Susan Kotyk. I’ve been an Emergency Department trauma nurse at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Health Sciences Centre for 21 years.

What impact has Covid-19 had on you and your efforts this past year?

In the beginning, Covid-19 caused quite a bit of anxiety for me in my work and personal life. I worried constantly about my father Willard who is a physically fit, and independent 87 year old. My biggest concern was getting infected with Covid-19 and spreading it to him. I didn’t want to stop seeing my father as he is one of the most important people in my life. Every moment with him is precious. During the first phase I would go and visit him with an N95 mask on and wouldn't touch him or anything in his house. He would ask for his "Bluebird" - our affectionate kiss goodbye - when I was leaving, I would only kiss him through my N95 mask on the top of his head. In my work life there was increased anxiety as well, constantly hoping and praying every day that myself or any of my colleagues would not become infected. There was also quite a lot of anxiety when donning and doffing our PPE, hyper-focusing on not contaminating yourself and thus others. This made the stress level quite high. Working with an intense amount of anxiety increases your level of exhaustion 100%!

How have you been finding joy these days?

I always try to find joy in every day. Being a Trauma Nurse, you see how things can change in the blink of an eye. The things I like to do are spend time with my dad and my loved ones. I enjoy going to the cottage and being outdoors. Shopping! We can't forget shopping! When things were locked down, I became a pro at online shopping!

What positive things have you seen or experienced during this time?

That’s easy! Front-of-the-line privileges to get into stores as a frontline worker, especially the LCBO! It’s an incidental thing but is certainly appreciated by all of us! On a more serious note, I have to say that Covid-19 brought a different dynamic to my workplace. We were all living in fear, and we all needed to depend on one another for each other’s safety. My colleagues and I became much closer and had to work together to get through this. We’ve had many conversations, leaning on each other to unload the stress and anxiety. I’ve also noticed in my own personal life a lot of people coming closer together that had grown apart. Some were reaching out to people who had experienced losses, and some were coming to me with questions as a nurse. I found there was a lot of rebuilding and renewal of friendships.

Describe a moment that has truly affected you.

What has affected me the most during the pandemic are the people. It broke my heart not being able to let family or visitors in to see their loved ones. I just can’t imagine how painful that is on both sides. I honestly found this all-consuming mentally.

One story that stands out is that of an elderly woman from a nursing home who arrived with shortness of breath. She kept asking to see her family and didn't understand why she was at the hospital. She did not understand what Covid-19 was, she did not know that her facility had an outbreak. I recall explaining to her, this beautiful soul, a bright-blue eyed 90 something year old woman about the pandemic and the changes to her healthcare. I told her with tears in my eyes why her family could not come in. All I could think was, this should not be, I did not sign up for this! This was traumatic for me. She was in shock about the pandemic. I am sure someone had told her about it before, but when you're 90 years plus and you suffer from dementia the short-term memory is gone so you just keep reliving the nightmare as if on replay. There she sat Covid positive alone in an empty room… I started to bag my cell phone after this in order to share it safely. I'd call my patients families from inside the room so they could talk to or at least hear one another. Families need to feel they are involved, and the patients need to feel their presence. Although I was doing this for them, it was also for me in some strange way.

Is there anything you’d like to share or wish people were aware of?

I would like people to be aware that the emergency room nurses are doing their best with the resources that they have. We do not make people wait for fun. We care and we want everyone to be attended to. Most of us are in the field because we are compassionate people, so please be kind to us. This is also a place of business, don't barge in and don't utter threats. There is a system in place, and we are professionals here to help you. We are doing the best that we can, we are giving "our all" every time we step into the hospital. Most importantly, be kind to one another because you don't know what each other are going through. We will come out of this pandemic united and stronger!

Bonus Question: Tell us something funny, lighthearted or quirky that’s made you smile during this trying time.

Out in the community you see some crazy things! The funny get-ups that people make to protect themselves, like bottles on their heads! At work what always makes me laugh is when my patient care manager would come into our lounge with her arms spread wide yelling, "personal spaces everyone, personal spaces!" It may not sound funny here, but if you could see her all righteously dramatic and all of us like deer in the headlights, it's quite comical! This is always in our best interest of course. I'm a light-hearted soul, I like to make my colleagues day brighter by sharing jokes and bringing out their smiles.

Photography by John Weight Photography


Do you know someone who is making a difference in your community? Nominate them by sending an email to [email protected] Please include their name, contact information and a brief description of what they do! ❤️

Meet Mary Hawk, today's

1) What do you do? How long have you done this?

My name is Mary Hawk; I am the CEO and Founder of the Sheen for She Foundation. I am also a full-time software engineering student at Arizona State University, double major in political science and psychology major at Glendon College, and working towards my private investigator and real estate licenses. I started the Sheen for She Foundation with my partner in 2018, from a need to introduce self-care into the fight for a better future for females. We offer medical esthetics, self-defense training, self-care training and healing circles, to women who are at-risk due to s*x trafficking, domestic violence, drug addictions, homelessness, and more, we call these women Queens. As the only women’s organization of its kind in Canada, Sheen for She responds to the unique health needs of women and expands female horizons.

2) How has COVID-19 changed your job?

First and foremost, we lost our space due to COVID-19 and it also indefinitely paused all of our in-person programming and left us searching for innovative ways to reach out to the women we serve. It was also the reason for the creation of the Perseverance Aid Kits (formerly known as The Love Box Project). We organized two successful phases of this project, starting in May 2019, and distributed over 3000 self-care packages to at risk women across the GTA, while simultaneously working with 50 women’s organizations. Our customized self-care packages addressed every aspect of women’s health care ranging from, but not limited to, hygiene, body care, hair care, nail care, skin care, physical health care and more. We delivered an ample supply to cover women for approximately three months. We also hosted the Love Bags Project, in which we designed mental health and hygiene kits for at risk children and distributed over 500 of them. Our services took a turn for the best, and while we were working outdoors from a storage unit during the cold winter months with a small team due to COVID-19 restrictions, our output and energy were exceptional and vastly impactful.

3) How are you finding joy right now?

My family gives me the most joy, hope, and peace right now. We love spending time together and use it to re-energize ourselves for the upcoming days.

4) What positive things are you seeing right now?

As an organization we are constantly advocating to introduce self-care as a public health matter that has a profound impact on all women’s issues. When I see people join our mission and speak out with us, it shows that times are changing for the better and our movement is getting stronger. We saw this during the first two phases of the Perseverance Aid Kits, and we are relying on our support to grow as we prepare for the third and largest phase of our project.

5) Describe a moment that has truly affected you?

We deliver self-care packages in a variety of ways, and one of those ways includes driving around the streets of Toronto, especially in the tent encampment areas. Firsthand, I have witnessed the pure gratitude and surprise on the faces of women who feel ignored or threatened on the streets. One moment that I distinctly remember is when a woman was in tears after receiving her package and she said we gave her the hope to start fighting for herself again.

6) Do you have something you’d like to share?

This year, we are preparing for the third phase of the Perseverance Aid Kits with a goal of distributing 5000 of them. We are aiming to go mobile and reach rural areas as well. We are making a community appeal for support by urging everyone to sponsor one kit for $60 or donate what they can to our GoFundMe campaign (gf.me/u/yx5gbw). If you can donate time, please consider joining one of our open remote volunteer positions. Further, if you know women who could benefit from any of our services, please encourage them to reach out to us.

7) Bonus Question: Please tell us something “Funny/lighthearted/quirky”

It was cold and windy at our storage unit, so we raced each other in the open to warm up our bodies.

Do you know someone who is making a difference in your community? Nominate them by sending an email to [email protected]. Please include their name, contact information and a brief description of what they do! ❤️


Photography: