I was working as a Specialist Practitioner District Nurse during the beginning of the pandemic. My Mum also worked for the NHS at the time and in March 2020 she suffered with symptoms of COVID-19. At the time we did not have lateral flow tests, so we never knew if she had COVID-19, but luckily she recovered well. Unfortunately, my Dad then became ill and was taken to hospital. He was told he had COVID-19 and already had underlying health problems. We were not able to visit him in hospital and he sadly passed away on the 11th of April 2020. During that time, I was working in the community and trying to keep up with the safety advice provided nationally and locally, whilst visiting patients in their own homes. We had also extended our hours to support other services, so at times we were working shifts from 8am to 10pm including weekends. It was a very hard time for my colleagues, my family and myself personally. After my Dad passed away, I took time off to grieve. We could not have a normal funeral or pay our respects how we would wish. But we are now able to spend time with our family and friends and I am very grateful for this. I love my job as a nurse and I appreciate it even more now. Especially when I can support a patient and their family/friends in their own home and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. I went on to apply for my current post in August 2020 and started as Complex Community Practitioner in December 2020. I feel my local knowledge, nursing experience and professional and compassionate approach to my work gave me the ability to be successful in this post and I continue to be a strong advocate for my patients every day.