The story behind the heartbreaking photo of exhausted, sobbing nurse
A photo of an exhausted, broken nurse sobbing on a chair has touched the hearts of thousands after being shared on Facebook.
Laura McIntyre, from Texas, shared a photo on Friday of her sister Caty Nixon slumped in a chair, feeling the emotional and physical toll of an incredibly tough week.
Ms Nixon appears to be sobbing as she sits in a brown leather chair with one of her hands covering part of her face.
Ms McIntyre explained the striking image was taken in July “after a particularly hard day” for her sister who was involved in delivering a child stillborn.
“Caty just wrapped up her fourth shift in a row,” Ms McIntyre wrote.
“That's around 53-plus hours in four days. That's not including the 1.5 hours she's in the car each day.”
Ms McIntyre added her sister doesn’t get a chance to eat lunch or drink much water.
“She is so good at what she does that she often forgets how to take care of herself while she's taking care of her patients,” she wrote.
She posed the question: “Have you guys ever really thought about what a labour and delivery nurse sees?”
The ups and downs of working on a maternity ward
While her sister and other nurses are often exposed to great joy during successful deliveries, they are also met with “panic and anxiety,” Ms McIntyre said.
“They see teenagers giving birth,” she wrote.
“They see an addicted mum give birth to a baby who is withdrawing. They see Child Protective Services come. They see funeral homes come.
“Did you know that they have to make arrangements for the funeral home to come pick up the baby? I didn't either.”
Ms McIntyre paid tribute to her sister and all nurses for their work.
“Caty (and all other nurses) - you are special,” she wrote.
“You bless your patients and their families more than you will ever know.
“Thank you for all that you do.”
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Words of thanks for nurses
Ms McIntyre’s post has been shared more than 104,000 times and led to an outpouring support and gratitude for all nurses.
One woman said the post made her “heart melt”.
“I had some amazing nurses when I had my daughter. One who I am sure saved my daughter's life,” she wrote.
“Thank you all for what you do!”
Another man added nurses have nothing but his respect.
“My grandmother was a nurse during WWII and one day she just refused to talk about it anymore,” he wrote.
“That was about 10 years after the end of the war.
“They work harder than you can imagine and the whole effort is to save lives.”
Others simply thanked Ms Nixon and nurses like her for their hard work and dedication.
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