Today was a tough day. A relatively young patient was deteriorating in front of me and I couldn’t do much for them (ceiling of care was ward based, & they already were on 15L of O2), another patient became seriously unwell and had only just lost her husband to COVID 4 days ago.

I gave somewhere between 20-25 IVs and 10-15 CDs (mainly palliative), and left the hospital 1 hour 45 minutes after the end of my shift. The most difficult part was reading out messages to an end of life patient that their family members had emailed in because they can’t visit.

I challenge anyone not to have a wobble in their voice when reading out how proud their son is of them, how much they love them, & how they regret not saying it more often. Then when you look to see if there is any recognition in the patient’s face at all.

My hands are red, my face is dry & my emotions are all over the place. I feel so appreciated as a nurse, but so angry when I see people out picnicking/sunbathing/flying kites. Lockdown is tough, but what’s happening in hospitals in tougher. Stop being selfish #StayHomeSaveLives