ICU Nurse’s Take on “How It Started vs. How It’s Going” Has Gone Viral

Nurses have always been considered saints. Their careers revolve around helping people and ensuring the health of others. And now, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, their work is only more appreciated.

However, it’s hardly a walk in the park. Nurses are working harder than ever to make sure people with the virus can go home to their families—but it’s really starting to take its toll on them.

We can see this in one nurse’s tweet that recently went viral. The woman, named Kathryn, only recently became a nurse not too long before COVID-19 hit, and is now really feeling the effects of her job. She posted a professional photo of herself alongside one where she’s looking rather drained—aka a depiction of how she feels after a shift.

In the first photo, her hair’s perfectly done, her skin is shining and she’s smiling ever so daintily. In the second, her hair is astray, the bags under her eyes are clear, and it’s obvious wearing a mask is taking a physical toll on her jawline, too. She captioned the photos. “How it started” and “How it’s going” respectfully.

While she loves her job, she leaves her shift each day feeling completely defeated.

“I love being a nurse,” Kathryn clarified. “Didn’t exactly expect to be a new nurse in the middle of a highly politicized pandemic but life comes at you fast and even in a pandemic, there’s nothing else I want to do. Caring for the sickest of the sick is an honor and I treasure my patients.”

“It is devastating to watch people die when those deaths were avoidable and it’s even more devastating when you watch them die the same way, time after time after time,” she continued.

The photos are to help people understand that COVID-19 isn’t just affecting the person who contracts the virus—it’s affecting everyone around them, including the healthcare workers who take care of them.

Kathryn wants everyone to know that they can do their part to help by simply wearing a mask and taking simple health precautions as we ride out the pandemic.

“Covid is a brutal disease and I wouldn’t wish the worst of it on my worst enemy,” Kathryn stated. “Please understand that you aren’t just protecting yourself, you are protecting the people around you.”

Do you know a nurse treating people with COVID-19? Have you checked in with them lately? Be sure to let them know how thankful you are for all they do!