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'This is the face of defeat': Nurses' open letter garners support

A picture of a dejected nurse has led to an outpouring of praise and appreciation from thousands of people after it was shared on Facebook.

The photo, of the unnamed nurse, was shared on the Nurses Forum Facebook page.

“This is the face of defeat,” started the story accompanying the picture of the nurse.

“The face after 26 minutes of CPR. The face after losing a patient in code.

“The face after hearing children sob for their dying mother.

“The face after telling a mother that she will never hold her daughter again.”

A picture of a dejected nurse.
A Facebook post picturing a nurse and the title 'this is the face of defeat' has hit a chord with those recognising the difficult work done by nurses. Source: Facebook/ Nurses Forum

It continued, “this is pain” and nurses often go home and “cry in the shower”, and have sleepless nights.

“We wake up, walk back in, and we do it again with a smile,” the nurse wrote.

“This is the face of overworked and underpaid. This is the face of under appreciated and overlooked. We are tired and we are sore. We are physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

“You don’t always see the sadness, but it’s there.” she wrote.

The nurse wrote for anyone who knows a nurse to “thank them”.

A female nurse is pictured holding senior woman's hand.
The nurse wrote many in the profession are left distressed after what they deal with day to day. Source: Getty Images (file pic)

“We aren’t as OK as we always seem,” the passage continued.

“Our faces may be misleading and sometimes we need to know that what we do and the pain we endure while doing it, is worth it.”

The post has since been shared more than 19,000 times with many praising nurses for their hard work and dedication.

“I sit here and cry because I am so thankful for the care and unselfish love that you share with so many people,” one woman wrote.

“I am so thankful for nurses with that calling. My Mother was in ICU for 14 weeks. No one know smuch they did for her and me.”

A man wrote he thanks nurses “all the time”.

“The nurse who took care of me in the ICU basically adopted me and the horde of my family members who took over the waiting room as her own family,” he wrote.

“Nurses are nothing short of amazing.”

Last week a photo of an exhausted, sobbing nurse went viral as it was revealed she had just delivered a stillborn baby.

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