As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second month in Arkansas, many people are looking for a way to make a difference and pass the time. These goals align to address the devastating shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) facing many hospitals in the state, inspiring the suitably crafty to sew protective cloth masks.
“Everybody’s just been so blown away with the lack of PPE,” said Sydney Norwood Tucker of Fayetteville. “Just watching the news, I felt guilty that I’m at home and these people are out on the front lines putting their lives at risk.”
What moved Tucker to action was hearing tales from her mother-in-law Lesa Tucker who coordinates volunteers for Northwest Medical Center’s five campuses.
“They’re not allowing volunteers there right now and haven’t for weeks. (Lesa) was actually having to work one of the waiting room desks,” she said. “I asked her what kind of protection do you have? She said just distancing and trying not to get too close. I was horrified.”
“I thought, this can’t be hard. I can make that. I had a bunch of scrap fabric at my house so I looked up a couple different patterns and ended up drawing my own that I thought would be better.”
Tucker made four masks and after posting photos of them to social media, the phone started ringing. Her pediatrician’s office was the first to call and request some masks and as word spread from there, Tucker realized the effort was going to require many more hands.
“My mother-in-law volunteered with a lot of older ladies that have sewn different things for her over the years,” she said. “I was like, they’re sitting at home probably thinking, ‘What can I do to help when I’m not allowed at the hospital right now?’”
The locked-out volunteers proved eager to help and between them and some of her Facebook friends, Tucker was soon supplying mask components to 25 seamstresses who produce masks to supply all of Northwest Medical’s campuses. Thus far Tucker’s group has completed hundreds of the masks — paid for through donations and distributed free of charge — and directly inspired similar efforts in Texas and Missouri.
Tucker credited her parents and her alma mater for planting the seed of service in her at a young age. Though now Methodist, the Little Rock native grew up in Christ the King Parish and graduated Mount St. Mary Academy.
“I’m so grateful to have had that model,” she said. “At Mount, I remember doing Robin Hood Days where we would see which class could raise the most cans of green beans. It’s about giving, but it’s also about how big can you go to make an impact. I love that.”
“I’m competitive by nature, too, so this is personal now. We just met my goal of getting to 1,000 masks. You better believe I’m not stopping there.”
Monica Wisenbaker, a parishioner of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, had a similar epiphany as Tucker when considering how priests willingly step into harm’s way in living out their vocation.
“When people are faced with serious illnesses and death and when they’re worried about their future and worried about their health and economic situations, they turn to their priests,” she said. “With how serious this virus is that puts our priests at risk for contracting the virus. I thought, our priests need to be protected to maintain their health so they can continue ministry.”
Wisenbaker reached out to fellow Catholics Dr. Gene and Margie France, who attend Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, for help starting a ministry of supplying priests and seminarians with masks. They warmed up by designing and sewing a mask for Wisenbaker’s daughter Amanda, an ER nurse in Fort Smith, a design that features a replaceable paper insert for additional protection.
“It’s a double-sided cloth mask and sterile paper goes in between two layers,” Wisenbaker said. “You can use the sterile paper several times until it’s soiled and then throw the paper away. The cloth masks can be washed and dried.”
The Little Rock group, which has since grown to include more local seamstresses, is working to supply two masks for each priest and seminarian in the diocese. The effort has also been joined by diocesan personnel Susan Graham, who helps produce mask inserts, and Liz Tingquist, who distributes the finished masks. As of April 7, 77 priests and seminarians have received their two masks. Tingquist is waiting on more masks to supply the remaining 46 active and 16 retired clergy.
“I know some people are feeling overwhelmed right now, but whatever people can offer, our priests are deeply grateful,” Tingquist said. “I feel our Blessed Mother is with us, taking care of her priest sons.”
Dr. France, an allergist-immunologist, added the real reward in the effort is in giving back to the men who give so much of themselves to the faithful.
“Several of the priests have texted me and they all say how wonderful it is for this to be done for them,” he said. “I wrote them back and said if there’s anything we can do to protect our beloved priests, that’s what we need to do. That’s our feeling; take care of our beloved priests.”
