'Sharon knew she was needed' - Meet Glasgow's latest key worker heroes

Sharon Mcauley, 35, has been praised for her efforts at the Royal Infirmary, coming back to work after she went off sick with a bad back. 

Her aunt, Anne Marie McLintock, nominated the clinical support worker for bravely responding to the call when she heard about the severity of the pandemic. 

READ MORE: Key worker heroes: Brave sacrifices in lockdown from frontline workers

She said: “She’s finding it hard, she’ll not deny that. She’s finding it hard seeing people be so ill and pass away.”

The mum has two children at home she is also worried about – and daughter Chelsea, 16, fears for her mother’s own safety. 

“Obviously protecting the kids is the main thing for her,” Anne Marie said. “She loves her job, she loves meeting the people.

“She damaged her back and hurt her spine and was off sick when all this hit – and she went back to work because she knew she was needed.” 

Sharon is a family-oriented person, Anne Marie explained, saying she is dropping essential supplies to her mother, who has COPD.

Born in Easterhouse, Sharon now lives in Hamilton with husband Gordon and her two children, Chelsea and Cole. 

Meanwhile, a hero cancer nurse has been tirelessly helping vulnerable patients at the Beatson, without seeing her family in weeks. 

Geraldine MacDonald, who has worked as a nurse for more than 30 years, was nominated by her daughter Rachel Caldwell for her work in the specialist cancer 
hospital.

Having seen people at their most vulnerable, often helping those receiving end-of-life care, Rachel said her mum was “the most compassionate person in the world”.

She added: “She goes home, she cries and then she gets straight back up, puts a smile on her face and gets back to work, so her patients know she’s strong enough to look after them.”

Coming from a family of healthcare workers and working without fully functioning immune systems, Geraldine is taking lockdown extremely seriously.

“She’s not even seen us for over six weeks, not even through a window, because she’s so worried about the spread,” said Rachel. “It’s been hard.

Geraldine MacDonald has been nicknamed ‘Mary Gerry’

“She’s a fantastic granny and she’s got two nieces and a nephew and she just shines at looking after them. They stay in Belfast but she loves seeing them, when she can.”

Geraldine has been keeping herself busy out of work making her family masks, which she mailed over to them. She has also earned herself the nickname Mary Gerry for her baking.

Rachel is a police officer and has been finding the lockdown tough too. 

“It’s brought out the best and worst in people,” she said. 

Workers at a community centre in north Glasgow have also been praised – for looking after the children of key workers. 

Keira Laidlaw, 7, nominated Sean and Gemma of the ARC in Milton, who are now working to care for, teach and entertain the children of essential workers at a hub school. 

Keira’s mother Lynda said the seven-year-old had decided they were her heroes. 

“They’re still there, they’re going out their way and they’re just amazing people. They’ve not let everything that’s going on phase them at all,” said Lynda.

A shy Keira said the dedicated pair were her heroes “because they do sport”. 

She added: “They always come and they play games.”

READ MORE: Meet Glasgow's key worker heroes: Today we honour an NHS nurse, a full-time carer, and an Asda worker

Lynda, 43, works at the children’s outpatients unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. 

“It’s different, that’s one way to put it,” she said of her work, which has been turned upside down by the pandemic. 

“It’s hard because you’ve not got that closeness with your patients, you can’t comfort them as much, but they’re amazing, they’re so resilient.”