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Nurse Jenny McGee, who was personally mentioned by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for her care, feels a bit nostalgic for New Zealand.
‘Nurse Jenny’, an Invercargill kiwi praised by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this year, is nostalgic for New Zealand as it helps fight the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK.
McGee was one of two nurses who stayed with Johnson for 48 hours when he was hospitalized with Covid-19 in April.
After his hospitalization, the British Prime Minister publicly thanked the NHS for the care he received and, in particular, singled out some staff members. Among them was “Jenny from New Zealand, Invercargill from the South Island to be exact.”
Johnson later nominated McGee for a Pride of Britain award.
Jenny’s mother, Caroline McGee, told Stuff Thursday that she had been in regular contact with her daughter, that she was not in a “good space” during the holiday season and that she missed home.
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Healthcare workers in the UK like Nurse Jenny are under immense pressure due to the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus. In November, Johnson announced a month-long national lockdown for England to halt the resurgence of Covid-19 and imposed stricter restrictions over the Christmas holidays through his tier system in December.
Every year, Jenny came home in February, Jenny’s mother said.
He couldn’t do that in February, which added to his nostalgia.
Jenny had planned to book a plane ticket to New Zealand in April / May, self-isolate herself and spend three months at home, McGee said.
“As a mother, I miss her very much and think about when I will be able to hug her again and I hope it will be in three or four months.”
They were able to video call Jenny on Christmas Day, which she had free.
It was the first time he had called her on video at Christmas, since Jenny normally worked that day.
Due to confinement restrictions in the south of England, it was only her partner and their puppy that they enjoyed, McGee said.
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Jenny McGee’s parents Mike and Caroline, who now live in Nelson, hope that she can return to New Zealand sometime in 2021.
Jenny was working hard to combat the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in Britain, she said.
She had noticed that they weren’t suffering as many deaths at this stage, in part because they were understanding what remedies were working and how to deal with patients, she said.
Jenny kept assuring her parents that she was absolutely fine.
She had nursing friends who had the virus, but luckily none had died, McGee said.
They found that the virus had many more side effects and one of them was extreme tiredness, which some of their colleagues had experienced.
“I had friends who have had covid and recovered, but they are still so lethargic that they cannot work, they are simply exhausted all the time.”
Caroline hoped that her daughter would return to New Zealand for her 70th birthday and that her son in Costa Rica would also be able to make the trip in 2021.
