A community nurse spending every day looking after dying Covid-19 patients has been forced to leave her family and live with her mum - for fear of passing the deadly virus to her kids.
Mum-of-three Jay Short, 32, made the heartbreaking decision to move out of the home she shares with partner Ben, 30, sons Tommy and Logan, 12 and eight, and daughter Lottie, one, after the severity of the coronavirus pandemic became clear.
The staff nurse is instead staying on the other side of Ashington, Northumberland, with her mum Judith, a hospital healthcare assistant.
Her daughter Lottie has been hospitalised three times with chest infections since she was born and Jay was terrified that catching the illness could be seriously dangerous for her.
Her emotional post revealing the difficult decision and pleading for Brits to take the lockdown seriously in light of her sacrifice has racked up thousands of likes and shares on social media.
Jay said: "Moving out was something I felt I needed to do for my family to survive.
"I wanted to break the chain before it could even start, so I knew I had to take myself out of the equation.
"I'm absolutely heartbroken the only relationship I can have with my children for the next few months is through the window.
"It really hurts not being able to see my babies. It has been the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but at the same time was an easy choice.
"But being a nurse is what I trained for three years to do and I just felt 'if I can't help our NHS now at a time like this, when can I?'
"I knew I was happy to risk my own life facing this virus head on, I just wasn't happy to risk anyone else's.
"I'm out there every day in the thick of it, seeing the terrible effect Covid-19 is having with my own eyes.
"I have seen the pain of people's loved ones dying every day first hand, but there is no way I am ready for that to happen to one of my own family members."
As a community staff nurse, Jay goes into patients' homes and care facilities but currently due to the pandemic is mainly providing palliative care for elderly people with Covid-19.
She made the decision to isolate from her family when an outbreak of coronavirus developed in her office with nine members of her team confirmed as having the illness.
The only contact she has been able to have with her children has been through a window for just a few minutes each day - with her older sons now staying with their dad in nearby Morpeth.
Her partner of three years Ben is at home with Lottie and Jay's dad Leonard, who is isolating with them as he lives next door.
Jay has begged Brits to stay at home in order for the virus to pass its peak sooner so she can get back to her family.
She said: "This is not a holiday - this is killing people.
"Seeing people out on the street unnecessarily makes me so angry - I'm risking my life and they can't even stay at home, it is absolutely stupid, and so selfish.
"Unfortunately, it will take for coronavirus to kill someone they love before they realise they could have prevented it, and it shouldn't have to come to that.
"I want to be with my children, in my own home where I can bathe, cuddle and kiss them.
"But I can't do that until this ends, and it will only end when the public pay attention.
"The longer people ignore the restrictions, the longer I can't see my babies.
"My life is upside down without them, but I am making this sacrifice for the greater good - to protect the people I love the most and care for the people who need it."
