To Keep Their Son Alive, They Sleep in Shifts. And Hope a Nurse Shows Up.

A nursing shortage — driven by the pandemic — has made life miserable for parents with profoundly disabled children. “What if I’m so exhausted that I make a mistake?”

It was 9 a.m. on a Sunday in May, and Chloe Mead was already worn out. In her living room, she cradled her 7-year-old son, Henry, supporting his head with one hand and helping him toss a ball with the other, careful not to disturb the ventilator that was keeping him alive. A nearby monitor tracked his blood-oxygen levels and a pump was at the ready should his tracheotomy tube need cleaning. In the corner, her 4-year-old daughter was building a pillow fort. “I need, like, five extra arms,” she said.