Kiwi nurse Franz Arevalo raising money for colleagues fighting coronavirus

Fulltime registered nurse Franz Arevalo wants to use his following to help out frontline health staff. Photo / @thenattynurse / Instagram

A Kiwi nurse and influencer who juggled an incredible fitness routine with his clinical workload during lockdown is now raising money for his colleagues who have been at the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic in New Zealand.

Franz Arevalo, a West Auckland nurse who ran a funded clinical base unit for 10 weeks on the frontline of Covid-19 testing, is calling for fellow nurses to be appreciated for their hard work.

Arevalo decided to start fundraising and reached out to local companies for product donations. He also sourced meals for medical staff to ensure they were well fed after their long shifts.

Arevalo approached bedding company, Ecosa, and so far he's picked up $3000 worth of bedding products for nurses to ensure they get a good much-needed rest when they get home from work.

"For nurses this is our season, and we have been able to show people how capable we are and what we can do," he says.

Franz organised a surprise lunch for medical staff. Photo / Instagram / @thenattynurse

"I felt that they needed appreciation for their bravery and dedication, and I was in a position where I can help serve other people through my social media," he says of his 4700-strong following on Instagram.

"Often, we were working six days a week and they were so grateful to be recognised for their work."

Arevalo is also calling on the government to recognise the hard work of frontline health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic by waiving their student loans.

In a post on his Instagram, @thenattynurse, he wrote:

"I believe by simply implementing a legislation that advocates the needs of our health workers particularly nurses, we can lift a huge burden to them by simply helping them in their financial well being.

"Waving out our student loan debt would give us determination and hope to work earnestly in our job [sic]."

This isn't the first time Arevalo has made headlines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month he shared with the Herald how he adapted some of his workouts for lockdown under alert levels 3 and 4.

"I know it's been a struggle to maintain daily exercises now that the gyms are closed," he shared. "This motivates me more to adopt new alternative fitness regime at home in order to maintain physical performance."

He demonstrated using giant water bottles for weight training, in order to maintain the same "intensity", and even used his microwave to do weighted squats.

View this post on Instagram

As we enter level 3 lockdown tomorrow Im actually low key gutted. 😅 It’s been an awesome month adopting new alternative workouts and iv learnt a lot from this season. - One of my biggest realisation is there is a danger of being familiar with what feels comfortable and common with our daily routine. A month ago we were all caught up with what feels right and normal because it was just what we knew. Stressful weekly routine, being comfortable having gym access, long work hours, sleepless nights, less time with family, temporary joy. - I think the point is that we all crave for routine, it seems to be a human coping mechanism, when we feel anxious with life we reach for what’s familiar even when it’s seems negative we settle because it feels safe and there is a relief and comfort. - With this quarantine season What if God is actually trying to bring us into a new different level of routine, because what we think was good for us wasn’t really the right way of living. - Yes who says you can’t be strong and healthy lifting water bottle weights? Who says you can’t gain peace and joy while on quarantine? Who says you can’t invest in your dream and invest in becoming a better version of you in the midst of uncertainty? God does not give us overcoming life, He gives us life as we overcome 💯 - Food for thought 😉 Regards @thenattynurse

A post shared by F R A N Z 🇳🇿🇵🇭 (@thenattynurse) on Apr 26, 2020 at 3:40pm PDT

"It doesn't have to be lifting weights but being physically active can be a form of house cleaning, gardening, playing with your kids in your bubble. This will help improve blood circulation, physical performance and relieve mental stress. Any physical activity is better than staying in bed all day."