In honor of Nurses Week, I’m revisiting this photo and memory—not to dwell in the past, but to honor how far we’ve come, and what still lives within us. ⁣ This was me in the thick of it. Full PPE, bruised cheeks, tired eyes, and a heart carrying more loss than I knew what to do with.⁣ ⁣ We showed up before the systems did. Before there were reinforcements, protocols, or even enough masks. We bore witness to unthinkable grief, held hands when families couldn’t, and gave everything we had—sometimes to patients we knew wouldn’t make it.⁣ ⁣ I’ll never forget him. I still think about his family. About the code that broke me. About the silence after time of death was called.⁣ ⁣ This week, we celebrate nurses. But behind the praise, there are stories like these—etched into our bones.⁣ ⁣ To my fellow nurses: we are more than resilient—we are deeply human. May we honor our scars, visible and invisible. May we never forget the lives we touched, the ones we lost, and the strength it took to carry both.⁣ ⁣ NursesWeek2025 NurseStrong NursesWeek viral trending trendingreels NurseLife FrontlineHeroes HealthcareHeroes NursesOfInstagram NursesofTikTok COVIDNurse BehindTheMask COVID ICUNurse NurseResilience ThisIsNursing NurseAppreciation NursingThroughCOVID EmotionalLabor CompassionInChaos NurseStory WeRemember FacesOfTheFrontline HonorTheHealers nursepractitioners nursepractitionersofinstagram