I didn't think anyone would want to hear my story.
I was wrong. I spent almost a decade as a nurse, most of it in the ICU, before COVID, during, and after. What I saw inside those walls is a story they're counting on you to forget, and it's a story you deserve to know.
Who I am
Kathrine Reuther, RN
Almost a decade in the ICU · Commercial pilot · Mom of two girls
Hi, if you're new here I'm Katie. I spent a decade in healthcare, most of it in the ICU. My career started before COVID, I stayed during, and officially left in 2024.
During and after COVID I watched people I trusted with my life burn out, break down, and walk away, and for a long time I told myself I was different. I wasn't. So I did the thing nurses aren't supposed to do. I left. With two little girls in tow, we moved us across the country and earned my commercial pilot license, I got about as far from a hospital as I could get.
But the story came with me anyway.
This book is what happened in between, written the way it actually happened, not the way the press releases talked about us, and sometimes not the way we would like to talk about ourselves. But everything in it is the truth, and I believe that's the part that really matters.
THE MEMOIR · COMING SOON
They Called Us Heroes
A MEMOIR BY KATHRINE REUTHER, RN
“They called us heroes
because it was cheaper than
fixing anything.”
In 2020 the world stood on porches and banged pots for us at 7pm. Then it went back inside.
This book is about what we went back inside to.
We ran IV drips with roller clamps because the pumps ran out.
We mixed our own medications because the pharmacy couldn't.
We took medications from dead patients and gave them to the ones who still had a chance.
We wore disposable N95s for a week instead of hours.
We rationed care.
We turned on breaker boxes when the power went out because our facilities couldn't handle the load from the ventilators.
We watched powerless as our patients got preventable complications.
We did damage control while people died in front of us. Isolated.
We fought an uphill battle with no support.
We burned out.
And we kept a dark sense of humor, because that was the only supply that never ran out.
They Called Us Heroes is a raw, honest, sometimes funny memoir about the COVID frontline, what the word “hero” cost the people wearing it, and the rebuild that came after.
If you were there, I want you to feel seen. If you weren't, I hope you finally understand what really happened.
0 1 · THE WAITLIST
Read it first
Signing up will help get this story published. I can't publish if no one raises a hand to read it. You get the release date first, first excerpts, and updates as it moves through publishing.
0 2 · THE STORIES LIST
The stories
Real stories and memorials from health care workers, patients, and families. The ones that get buried and never make the news. There may be sneak peeks from the book.
SHARE YOUR STORY
This isn't only my story.
I'm building a space where family members and health care workers can tell their stories, with your name on it or without it, entirely your choice. If you have a story to share please submit it below.
HEALTHCARE WORKERS
Share what you saw
Nurses, doctors, techs, medics, aides, therapists, EMS, lab, pharmacy, housekeeping, transport. If you touched this system, your story counts. Named or anonymous.
PATIENTS, SURVIVORS, AND FAMILIES
Tell your side. Remember someone.
You were the patient in that bed, or you lost the person who was. Your account, or a memorial for who they were, belongs in this record too.
QUESTIONS
Ask me something
Do you have questions that are unanswered. Ask here. I will do my best to give an honest response. Even if that may be uncomfortable. Answers show up in posts and emails.
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CONTACT
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LEGAL
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DISCLOSURES
Stories published here are the personal accounts and opinions of the people who submitted them. Names, locations, facilities, and dates are changed before publication. Nothing on this site is medical or legal advice. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by any hospital or health system
© 2 0 2 6 KATHRINE REUTHER, RN · THEY CALLED US HEROES