On Tuesday, we printed a story about the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic — Butler Memorial Hospital nurses who work with COVID-19 patients — and described their daily rituals.

A routine that seemed surreal in the early days of the pandemic has since become quotidian to them, although losing COVID-19 patients is something they said one can never get used to.

We are grateful to these heroes for sharing their stories with us — but more importantly, for the vital and dangerous jobs they’ve held during this horrific time.

Not only have they offered the care required to those suffering from COVID-19 at the hospital, but they’ve also acted as liaisons between the patients and their families, often being the person in the middle of tough decisions as they are made. Often, they become caregivers for the patients’ families as well.

At times, the nurses sit with a patient during a final goodbye with family members through a computer screen, holding the patient’s hand.

The nurses try to keep the patients calm and alleviate their fears when they arrive at the hospital. They do everything they can to keep them comfortable.

Their work with the patients is often of a lighter nature — they stop by to just ask how they are doing or engage in conversation about what they watched on TV that day.

But the emotional toll often is enormous. “As much as you want to separate for your own sanity, it’s hard to because you get to know these families,” nurse Hannah Osborne said. “I remember every COVID patient. I remember every COVID patient’s family.”

For the risks they take every day by treating those infected with this virus and for the mental strain it entails, they deserve our thanks.

But being grateful isn’t enough. In return for their service, we must do our part to not make their jobs more difficult.

You’ve heard it said before on this page, and you’ll continue to hear it until the message sinks in and this pandemic winds down: Wear your mask.

Health officials around the nation have said that wearing masks is among the most effective ways to slow the spread of the virus. Avoiding large gatherings for the time being is another good idea.

If everyone follows these steps, it stands to reason that hospitals will be less crowded and the nurses in our community will be less at risk and overextended.

Wear your mask. It’s not too much to ask.

– NCD