A student nurse working in Ireland was surprised with a wonderful gift after chatting to Ryan Tubridy this morning.
Chloe, who is in her third year of nursing, missed out on her 21st celebrations to care for patients amid the current pandemic.
She chatted about the tough times she has been learning in and said “it’s been strange but, I’m getting there.
“Our nurses and midwives are stretched as it is, and it's hard for them to keep on top of students and look after us as well as their own workload so it’s a weird time to be learning.”
Her incredible attitude to the situation was felt during the interview as she said “I might have missed out on the big 21st experience, but people have missed out on a lot more.
“People have missed out on their child’s birth, people have missed out on weddings, funerals for their loved ones.
”So I might be missing out on a birthday and spending my young years in and out of lockdown but there are people spending their last years of life in the same situation.”
Chloe went on to talk about being thrown into the deep end at first - like so many of our student nurses - when she was deployed to work in the emergency department at the height of the pandemic.
Describing the experience she said: “When I was there last year, it was very different to what it is now, but I was working in a general hospital during Covid and I was only a first-year at the time and it was just very weird.
“I didn’t know much, I didn’t have a lot of experience on me, but going in at the peak of Covid, they were so stretched and I can’t even imagine the emergency department at the moment.”
Now, as hospitals are back under pressure with the number of admissions, Chloe continues to work hard and says she couldn’t see herself working in any other field.
As for missing out on her recent birthday, she told Ryan: “Look I didn’t have anything major planned, because I thought that with the way things were going it would be a bit hard.
“I saw a few friends but it wasn’t the same and probably wasn’t what a 21st could have been, but there are worse things going on, so I was happy to have a couple of friends around me at the time.
“Hopefully at some point, I get to celebrate it.”
Ryan praised the young nurse and said “I think you really represent everything lovely about your generation so, thanks for that!”
Moments later he revealed that the Kingsley Hotel in Co Cork wanted to offer her and one guest a weekend break to celebrate her 21st at her leisure.
Listeners were writing in to praise the young nurse and to wish her a belated happy birthday as well as many compliments for her amazing attitude in the face of the pandemic.
