ICU Nurse Posts Photo of Her Face Bruised by Wearing PPE, Begs People to Stay Home

(Illustration - Win McNamee/Getty Images)

An intensive care nurse who is fighting at the front lines of the CCP virus pandemic has shared a picture of her bruised, exhausted face on social media. The nurse is baring her personal pain in public in a bid to keep people indoors.

Aimée Goold, who works as an ICU nurse at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Doncaster, northern England, said that she had been working overtime amid the spreading pandemic of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, at a huge personal cost.

The exhausted nurse implored people to “remember her face” before stepping outside their front doors unnecessarily.

Goold, who hasn’t seen her family in a month, published a distressing image of herself at work with red welts and painful-looking bruises across her cheeks and nose. Taking to Facebook on April 9, 2020, Goold supplemented her photo with a powerful plea to the public to respect social distancing.

“When you’re tempted to go out this Easter, remember this face,” Goold wrote, according to Daily Mail. “This is the face of an ICU nurse. This is the face of working 65 hours over the last six days.”

“This is the face of reality,” Goold continued. “This is the face going through hell.”

The wearied nurse went on to explain that she had sustained painful pressure sores from wearing personal protective equipment for almost 13 hours per day. She admitted fearing for both her own health and the health of her colleagues; she implored people to appreciate the myriad sacrifices of the healthcare workers rallying to save other people’s lives.

“This is the face of someone who hasn’t seen their own family for nearly a month,” Goold wrote. “This is the face of someone who holds your dying family member’s hand, so they’re never alone.”

A healthcare worker in PPE transports a patient inside St Thomas' Hospital in north London, England, on April 1, 2020 (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite her exhaustion, Goold pledged to continue fighting on the front lines of the CCP virus outbreak, saying that she would be proud to do so. The young nurse pleaded, however, for reciprocal efforts from the public, despite empathizing with the severity of the lockdown measures.

“This is the face that is begging you to abide by the social distancing rules,” Goold wrote. “This is the face of an ICU nurse that is begging you to stay inside, protect us, protect the NHS, and help us save lives.”

The nurse’s moving plea depicting the shocking reality of life on the healthcare front lines went viral.

Staff disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas' Hospital in north London, England, on April 1, 2020 (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

In response to the escalating upward curve in COVID-19 case numbers in the United Kingdom, Health Secretary Matt Hancock addressed media at a daily briefing on April 11, according to media reports.

He said: “We never forget that behind this number, behind each one, is a name, a loss, and a family that will never be the same again. We all share a responsibility to tackle this virus, first and foremost by staying at home.”