Viral Photo of Exhausted Nurse Rallies Praise for Profession

A photo posted to Facebook of an RN, clad in blue scrubs and crying her eyes out, has awakened scores of praise for nurses and all they do.

Last week, Laura McIntyre, took to Facebook to share a photo of her twin sister, Caty Nixon, which she took back in July. This wasn’t a joyous photo of siblings smiling side-by-side or the like. No, it was of Caty, clad in her blue scrubs, in the midst of an emotional release. Sat in a brown leather armchair, with a plate of food in her lap, Caty cried. She had just finished a 53-hour, four-day workweek, which ended with her delivering a stillborn.

“She’s gonna kill me for this pic, but can we just give it up for nurses for a minute?” wrote McIntyre in the October 10th post. “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. (And she has to dress like a blueberry. I mean, come on.)”

McIntyre then explained, “This pic is from a night back in July where she came to my house after a particularly hard day. She delivered a stillborn.”

“Have you guys ever really thought about what a labor and delivery nurse sees?” she then asked. “They see great joy in smooth deliveries and healthy moms and babies. They see panic and 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—because 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.”

Those words, coupled with the photo of Caty in tears, struck a chord with scores of people on social media—nurses and patients alike.

The post, which ends with McIntyre heaping praise and thanks on her sister and other nurses, has had nearly 100,000 shares and has generated more than 16,000 comments, most echoing her sentiment of admiration.

“Caty (and all other nurses) – you are SPECIAL,” wrote McIntyre. “You bless your patients and their families more than you will ever know. Thank you for all that you do.”

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.