Thread by @InsideEdition

THREAD: Today is #NationalNursesDay. Stories like this one underscore how much is at stake for the nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as their families. ietv.co/2SIoCiV

1/ Health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19 likely have a greater risk of contraction. While there are no tallies of how many become infected, one nurse who died of the virus recorded a daily video diary, documenting just how serious it can be.
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2/ Pamela Orlando, a nurse who worked at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey recorded her condition each day from home until her symptoms took a turn for the worse and she was admitted to the hospital. 
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3/ She then continued to record the videos at the hospital for the next three weeks before her death.
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4/ "I think my mother did it to show people that this is serious and we need to be taking this more serious.”
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5/ At first, Orlando seemed to be able to deal with the virus on her own. "I'm not going to the ER. I'm going to manage my symptoms at home," she said in an early video.
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6/ But the symptoms, including back pain, a seemingly unbreakable fever and a terrible cough, only got worse. When she was finally taken to the hospital, the 56-year-old said she "couldn't even move without being short of breath." 
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7/ She continued recording the videos even after she reached the point where she could no longer speak. Her sons, Reid and Ryan, visited her for one final farewell. Only then did they find the videos on their mom's phone. 
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8/ "There videos are very difficult for me and my brother to see, but they needed to go out there because that's what my mother wanted.”
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9/end A GoFundMe page set up in Orlando's honor has raised over $6,000 for @projectn95, a fundraiser to get critical protective gear for health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19. To donate: gofundme.com/f/ppe-fundrais… #NationalNursesDay