Hard work is hard work. No matter the field. However, we must admit that there are certain jobs that take the cake when it comes to stress and emotional investment.
Nursing is undoubtedly one of those jobs.
Nurses deal with the constant rotation of “the circle of life.”
It can be beautiful but it can also be heartbreaking.
Watching someone take their first breath into the world is nothing short of life-changing. Watching somebody take their last, is nothing short of the same.
One woman, Laura McIntyre, captured her twin sister, Caty, mourning after delivering a stillborn baby. She decided to share the photo on Facebook. Not for popularity, but to show us that nurses have extremely difficult jobs. The work they do takes a toll on their own mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
The photo features a lengthy caption listing the type of work nurses do day-in and day-out. Some of which we know about. Others in which we have no clue.
Laura stated:
“My twin sister Caty just wrapped up her fourth shift in a row. That’s around 53+ hours in four days. That’s not including the 1.5 hours she’s in the car each day.”
She also went on to write that her sister rarely has time for lunch, let alone a moment to drink water.
Perhaps what captures the most attention is the detail that nurses are the ones who have to make the arrangements for the funeral home to come and pick up a deceased child.
It’s an eye-opening post.
"She's gonna kill me for this picture, but can we just give it up for nurses for a minute?My twin sister Caty just…
Posted by Love What Matters onMonday, October 14, 2019
The post has over 99 thousand reactions and has been shared over 20 thousand times.
The impact of Laura’s post was not lost on its readers. Every comment has been positive and encouraging. If Caty ever felt doubt whether what she does makes a difference, the comments can certainly put those doubts to rest.
“Oh Precious, thanks for doing what you do. You are obviously a wonderful nurse and that can’t come by training only, it’s in the heart. It’s being able to nurture and care for. Not everyone can do that well for others. Thank you!”
“The nurses I had when my son was stillborn were absolutely wonderful. I will never forget the tears they cried with me and the comfort they gave my husband and I during the darkest day of our lives.”
“All of my friends said they could have never made it through without their labor and delivery nurse!! They are wonderful!”
Nurses sometimes work only a few days out of the week but those days are anything but short and sweet. The days are long and the emotional and mental strain can be close to traumatizing.
One nurse, Brie Gowen, wrote an article for Huffpost where she describes the three-day workweek in detail. And it is not what it is cracked up to be.
Gowen describes her off days like this:
“…recovering from a mental and emotional hangover much worse than one caused by the cheapest of Tequila.”
She writes on how easy it is for a 12-hour workday to turn into 13 hours or more.
“You work within the confines of time, pushing the limits to complete an enormous workload with minimal support staff available, all the while carrying a small library of knowledge within your overloaded brain…”
The job never stops thus, neither can they.
If you are fortunate enough to know a nurse, let them know how much they are appreciated and how what they do doesn’t go unnoticed. Tell them that the work they do matters because without them, there is no us.
If you know a nurse, share with them this article. Let them know that we care.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
