Behind the Mask – ‘There will be an end to all this chaos’
Donna Wickham is a certified nurse assistant at Washington Health System Greene, where she has worked in the acute care unit since she arrived three years ago.
A graduate of West Greene High School, Wickham has also been working as a greeter to ensure visitors are following the hospital’s guidelines to ensure their safety and the safety of the staff.
Wickham and her husband, Travis, have been married for six years, but have known each other for more than 30 years.
She has three grown children, Michael, Brittany, and Kaleb. She is the proud grandmother of five grandchildren, Kitarah, Onyx, Joshua, Oliver and Emily.
Wickham is one of four siblings: Steve, who lives in Kentucky, Denise, and Everett, who passed away in 2001.
She has a cat named Gracie.
Wickham and her husband enjoy riding motorcycles, camping, and riding their side-by-side “playing in the mud.”
“Anytime I get to spend with my kids and grandkids is a blessing,” said Wickham.
Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. I wanted to go to the Marines or be a truck driver.
Q. Why did you decide to do the work you do now?
A. My dad was a medic in the Army, and my mom was a caregiver all her life. So I grew up around it.
Q. If you were given a free plane ticket to visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A. I would go somewhere with a beach. I love the beach, but I don’t have any desire to leave the United States. So just going to the Grand Canyon and out West with my husband on our motorcycles, rather than making a trip by plane, would be all right with me.
Q. What skill or talent would you most like to learn or improve?
A. I would like to learn how to play the guitar. I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I could sing, too. I do sing now, mainly in the car. I’m just not good at it.
Q. Who is the funniest person in your family?
A. My sister Denise is very witty and always has a comeback for everything. I mean, anyone that would put socks on a dead deer is pretty funny.
Q. What do you want to tell people, or want them to know, about the COVID-19 pandemic?
A. There will be an end to all this chaos someday, and we can learn from this and hopefully be more prepared for the next big thing.