Photo taken by sister of exhausted nurse goes viral
Laura McIntyre took this photo of her sister after a long week of working as a nurse. (Laura McIntyre)
FORNEY, Texas - Be sure to thank a nurse after you read this story.
A photo showing one nurse's emotional end to a particularly long and stressful week has gone viral.
"She's gonna kill me for this pic, but can we just give it up for nurses for a minute?" Laura McIntyre wrote on Facebook.
McIntyre's snapped a photo of her twin sister, Caty Nixon, after a hard day of working as a nurse at the hospital. She took the photo in July but held on to it until Oct. 10 before posting it to Facebook.
Caty, seen dressed in blue scrubs, is rubbing her eyes and holding a glass of water, clearly upset after getting off of work. McIntyre explained the story behind the photo.
"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 usually doesn't get a chance to eat lunch or even drink much water. (& she has to dress like a blueberry.. i mean, come on). 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."
On that day, McIntyre said Caty had a particularly hard day.
"She delivered a stillborn. Have you guys ever really thought about what a labor & delivery nurse sees? They see great joy in smooth deliveries & healthy moms & babies. They see panic & anxiety when a new mom is scared. They see fear when a stat c-section is called. They see peace when the mom has support from her family - bc not all new moms do. They see teenagers giving birth. They see an addicted mom give birth to a baby who is withdrawing. They see CPS 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."
McIntyre ended her post with praise for not only her dedicated sister, but for all nurses who are often do not receive the credit they deserve.
"Caty (& all other nurses) - you are SPECIAL. You bless your patients & their families more than you will ever know. Thank you for all that you do. 💛✨"
The photo resonated with supporters, racking up over 156,000 engagements and 96,000 shares.