Heartwarming Photo Shows Nurse Cuddling an Elderly Woman with COVID-19 to Ease Her Pain

Once again, health professionals show their professional and human sides in the midst of a crisis -- the Covid-19 pandemic. Nurse Valdirene Machado goes beyond her job to support the patients in her care.

Valdirene Machado, 35, is a Brazilian woman, a nursing professional who has made headlines for a moving photograph of her that she posted on her social networks. When it caught people's attention, it soon went viral.

Machado appears in the photograph cradling an elderly woman in her arms, apparently so that she can fall asleep. The image conveys peace, affection, and a lot of tenderness.

This photograph was taken at the health professional's workplace, Vicentino Nursing Home, in Itapeva, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A co-worker, also a health professional, took the photograph of Machado with the patient.

When the image went viral, the nurse was interviewed and commented that she provides her elderly patients not only with professional care -- measuring vital signs and providing medications -- but she also gives them affection because they need it.

SAD STATISTICS

A Covid-19 outbreak that infected at least 70 senior citizens developed in the Vicentino Nursing Home. Of that amount, unfortunately, about 15 elderly residents died.

Val, as her friends call her, wanted to help the other elderly residents cope with the sadness and pain of loss, as well as fear of illness. So she decided to give love and affection to everyone who needed it.

DAILY TREATMENT

Machado has explained that the photograph was spontaneous and not planned. After taking it, her colleague sent it to her so she could have it because it was a very beautiful image of her work.

Once Nurse Machado had the photo in her possession, she thought it was a good idea to share it with others. That was why she posted it on her social media account, accompanied by a text from the Bible.

SACRIFICE FOR LOVE

Machado knows very well what it is to feel in need of love and be away from loved ones. She is a mother of two children, 4 and 8 years old. To keep them safe from being infected, she has been without direct contact with them.

For more than a month, the children have been living with their grandmother and only see their mother via a cell phone. She stays in her workplace, and although they comply with all health protocols, it is safer because she cares for sick people.

EVERYDAY HEROES

Healthcare professionals continue to be the first line of defense and care against Coronavirus. Since the pandemic was declared last year, these doctors, nurses, and paramedics have not stopped caring for people at the cost of their lives.

Many health professionals have fallen ill, and a large number of them have lost the battle against Covid-19. However, that does not stop them from continuing to face one of the most difficult situations that humanity has faced in the last 50 years.