On Tuesday, a nurse on the front lines of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) battle in Chicago was forced to quit her job.

The nurse, who goes by the handle Nurse.iv on Instagram, delivered a passionate, teary-eyed message to friends and family about her less than favorable work conditions.  According to her report, the hospital where she worked allegedly refused to give masks to nurses, especially the ones working with coronavirus patients that had tested positive.

She explained that she had went into work and was assigned a patient who had the virus. Since none of the other nurses in the unit wore masks, not even the surgical ones, she decided to use her own mask for protection. She explained, “I had my own m95, I told my manager – I know we’re short on supplies but let me protect myself.”

MORE NEWS: Report: Inmates At Rikers Island Being Offered $6/Hr And Masks To Dig Mass Graves For Coronavirus Deaths

The nurse was told to remove her mask. But she decided to quit her job instead.

Here is her Instagram transcript:

I chose today…
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& my family members who have pre-existing conditions that wouldn’t get a ventilator if they contracted #COVID19 from me. I had a different idea in mind when I got to my #ICU this morning; I expected to see ALL OF OUR #NURSES & STAFF wearing #N95 masks but …
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Each ICU room had ‘make-shift’ ante-rooms attached to them created with plastic tarp & massive amounts of tape..
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A charge Nurse was passing out single N95 masks to nurses with a brown paper bag for them to store their mask in which was to be in inside their plastic ante-rooms & to – – …
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I asked “well what if there’s possible contamination to that N95 mask..? What about my safety”
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My manager told me “well our staff safety is our main priority right now … if we get enough masks, we may consider having staff wear surgical masks in the weeks to come..”
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I replied, “But it’s Airborne… those surgical masks won’t protect us ..”
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My manager then tells me “ we’ve kept up with the CDC & it is only when the COVID patient has any aerosol type treatments like a ventilator, nasal cannula, nebulizer etc that’s it’s airborne..otherwise it’s droplet ..”
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I replied “& 90% of our patients are intubated, paralyzed, & positive for COVID.. people not even in the hospital environment are spreading it .. we have to assume everyone is infected..especially in the hospital environment, & ”
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I then told her of nurses wearing a surgical droplet masks on their units & now intubated & fighting for their lives …
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Tears were streaming down my face & fog in my glasses at this point..
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I thought to myself.. , ..?
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I asked one last time pleading with tears in my eyes..
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“Can I please just wear … I understand we have a shortage but I have my OWN ”
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My manager told me that they couldn’t allow me to wear it.
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So I gave report, & left.
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America is NOT prepared & Nurses are NOT safe.
Plz DM me any telehealth jobs.

This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on April 1, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.

Read more at WayneDupree.com:
Marsha Blackburn Slams Pelosi: You Were Too Busy Impeaching Trump While COVID-19 Entered the U.S.
That’s Life! NY Father Takes A Stand — Won’t Let Springbreaker Son Back Into Home
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