Nurses and other medical professionals already have a difficult, strenuous job that requires long shifts. I have a family member who is a Labor and Delivery Nurse, and she’d tell you the same thing. Throw an epidemic into the mix, and the job becomes several times more stressful and demanding, even for the medical professionals who are not working directly with C*********s patients.
Single mother of two, 43-year-old Suzanne Vaughan is living that reality right now. The NHS nurse at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Norfolk, England has been taking on double shifts on the frontline. Although it was her personal decision to work extra during the outbreak, it was nonetheless a difficult task to be working day and night at the hospital for over two months straight. It also meant she wouldn’t be able to see her daughters, 9-year-old Bella and 7-year-old Hettie, not only due to her longer work hours but also for their safety.
During this timeframe, Vaughan had her sister, Charlotte, in Peterborough watch her girls.
“I brought them to my sister’s home because I wanted to keep them safe because I work at the hospital and was exposing myself to the virus each day,” the frontline nurse said. “But I also wanted to work more, and I couldn’t do more hours and keep the girls.”
There’s no doubt that Vaughan missed her daughters. However, she knew she was making the right decision in both taking on extra shifts during a dire time as well as making sure her kids weren’t potentially exposed to the virus.
“It was a really difficult decision but it was a sacrifice that needed to be made. …So many others have made the same sacrifices because we want to help people and fight this virus. It was something I needed to do – I started doing this job over 20 years ago because I wanted to help people.”
Vaughan definitely had the right intentions!
But, of course, working over 50 hours a week when she normally works 28 hours a week was nothing short of difficult both mentally and physically for her, understandably so.
“There were many times I thought to myself I can’t do this anymore,” she said. “It was dead-quiet, no one running about or screaming or laughing, it was horrible.”
Now, Vaughan is happy to share that after only being able to Facetime her girls and send them good morning texts for several weeks, she now got the opportunity to finally see them in person. And, now, she’s making sure to put all of her extra time towards her girls.
“I just didn’t want to let them go, and when they cried I just felt it in my heart. It was amazing,” the mom of two said. “We’ve always been close, but this has made us so much closer.”
Even her daughters, despite finding the separation difficult, know that her taking on the double shifts was very important, and for that, they are inspired by her.
“I think the NHS are really great people trying to save the world. She had to be a way to save people-she’s my hero,” Bella said about her mother.
So sweet!
Meet the amazing nurse and her two kiddos below.
