To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Nurse Who Is Separated From Her Three Children Begs Brits To Stay Home

Nurse Who Is Separated From Her Three Children Begs Brits To Stay Home

'My life is upside down without my babies, but I am making this sacrifice for the greater good'

Joanna Freedman

Joanna Freedman

In case you needed any more reason to stay inside, an NHS nurse from Northumberland has just made one of the most poignant pleas yet.

Like many healthcare workers before her, Jay Short, 32, took to social media to beg people to following coronavirus social distancing rules, revealing that she had been forced to leave her family - for fear of passing the deadly virus to her kids.

The mum-of-three previously lived with her partner Ben, 30 and their sons Tommy, 12, and Logan, eight, as well as their little one-year-old, Lottie.

But she had no choice but to leave them behind when the severity of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, instead moving to the other side of town with her mum, Judith, who is a hospital healthcare assistant.

Jay Short shared this devastating picture on social media (
Caters)

Alongside a picture of her loved ones waving at her through a window, she wrote: "This is my family, my 2 sons my daughter and my partner.

"This is how I get to see them now, through a window for a few minutes of the day. I am a front line key worker for the NHS and my baby girl has had recurrent chest infections since she was born last year.

"Due to the number of confirmed cases and symptomatic colleagues this will be the relationship I will have with my babies for the next few months.

"This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make, i don't want to leave them but that is me being selfish. I am absolutely heartbroken.

Jay is a staff community nurse (
Caters)

"I am leaving my family my young children so I can go to work and care for others I will risk my health facing this virus head on but I will not be risking anyone else's".

As a community staff nurse, Jay goes into patients' homes and care facilities and helps them directly - but currently, due to the pandemic, she's 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.

Lottie has been hospitalised three times with chest infections since she was born and Jay was terrified catching the illness could be seriously dangerous for her.

"For me, it was never worth the risk that she could contract something that could harm her," she explained.

"My dad, who lives next door and is isolating with them, is in his late sixties too and isn't in the best of health.

Jay has two sons and a baby daughter (
Caters)

"When NHS workers started getting ill, that meant it was not just the patients who it was affecting now, it was staff too - and I knew I couldn't bring it home to my family,."

Tragically, Jay said her younger son Logan hasn't been able to fully understand why she has left him, due to his behavioural difficulties, adding that it's left him devastated.

She has no idea how long she will be forced to stay away from her children, but is following NHS guidelines closely for any updates.

While enduring the huge sacrifice herself, she begged Brits to stay at home in order to ensure the virus doesn't stick around longer than it needs to.

"So please! I am literally begging you! Stay at home! Please just listen to the rules and follow the guidelines!," her post went on.

Jay can only see her kids through her window (
Caters)

"This is not a holiday! This is killing people! Do not wait for it to kill someone you love before you realise that you could of prevented it (sic).

"I am asking for help, I want to be home with my children, in my own home where I can bath them, cuddle them, kiss them. But I can't do that until this ends, and it will only end when the public start and pay attention to what is going on in the world.

"My life is upside down without my babies, but I am making this sacrifice for the greater good! To protect the people I love the most and care for people who need it."

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: Life News, News, Real, Coronavirus, NHS, Covid-19