Catherine - thank you for this story. I accepted your submission despite you not being a nurse because you are the voice of one. A nurse who is clearly bereft and shaken by the bedside reality that many of us are blind to.

Yeah, we read it on the news but it only hits home when it affects our nearest and dearest.

The raw imagery you portray in your words is a reminder to all of us about the reality of the pandemic - both on the patients and the nurses.

Thank you for taking the time to share your friends story. May we all live and learn from this stark encounter.