"Baking"

The relief of taking off the same N95 (surgical face mask) after a week of painstakingly making it last was visceral. I placed it ‘outside up’ on my car’s dash at the end of my shift. Placing it there, I hoped to ‘bake’ it for reuse as I drove home, the sun's powerful rays piercing through the window, the 70 degree weather outside. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for my multitasking before I remembered that the prescribed mask-baking temperature was 70 degrees CELSIUS, which would be 158 degrees Fahrenheit!

Photo and story submitted by:

Jaya Parker MD

Hospitalist

Hermann, MO