'I'm trying to show the human side of this': healthcare workers recognized with digital drawings

April Prescott's drawing of Dr. Darren Markland.

Edmonton — April Prescott recently took an interest in digital drawing - her way of coping with her emotions during the ongoing pandemic. Little did she know, her drawings would attract so much attention.

“Absolutely not,” said Prescott.

The former preschool teacher has completed around 10 pieces, each one depicting a local healthcare professional who has been working tirelessly on the frontlines.

"This is bringing smiles to the faces of the people that are in some ways affected most by this pandemic,” explained Prescott. “I wanted to give a voice to be people that might not have a voice right now."

Some of her drawings include original quotes from the healthcare workers themselves. For example: Her piece on intensive care unit physician Dr. Darren Markland reads, “For in the spaces between words, and the pause between the next breath exist the possibility that there may not be another. That we are finite and fleeting.”

“A lot of the conversations that these professionals are having are around kind of the darker side of what's going on, and they're really trying to educate and get the facts out there, and yet I'm trying to show the human side of this,” said Prescott. “Like these are still humans behind these medical masks and the scrubs that are going to work on a daily basis, saving lives."

Prescott’s work is now being shared on social media by the healthcare workers themselves, along with the general public.

Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist, is the subject of one of Prescott’s drawings.

“I actually thought it was one of the nicer thank yous I have seen,” Saxinger told CTV News Edmonton. “It was slightly uncomfortable because how weird is it that physicians are getting essentially fan art. But I thought it was lovely and I think people really enjoyed it actually.”

“Not all heroes wear capes,” said Prescott. “Some of them wear masks”