"Found the 'Protective Gear Nurse' Who Played Hwatu with a Dementia Grandmother Saying 'Did What I Could'"

"After Considering Ways to Wake and Comfort Grandmother to Help Her Regain Strength"

On the 1st, a photo of medical staff wearing protective suits sitting and playing Hwatu with an elderly woman was released, drawing attention. / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A photo of medical staff wearing heavy protective suits playing Hwatu cards to comfort an elderly grandmother alone in a hospital room has become a hot topic online, and the identity of the medical staff in the photo has been revealed. She is Lee Suryeon (29), a nurse at Samyuk Seoul Hospital in Seoul, who explained that the reason she spent time with the grandmother was "because I was thinking of ways to energize the grandmother who was just dozing off."

The Korean Nurses Association recently announced on Twitter on the 3rd that this photo, which has become a hot topic on various online communities and social networking services (SNS), is an entry for this year's '2nd Nurse Field Essay and Photo Contest' held by the association.

The elderly woman in the photo is Grandma Park, who was admitted to a negative pressure room at Samyuk Seoul Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, in August last year. Grandma Park is a moderate dementia patient who was infected with COVID-19 at a nursing home and transferred to this hospital. At the time of admission, she was suffering from a high fever and was in a weakened state.

Grandma Park, who is elderly, had to spend time alone in an isolation room. When the grandmother felt lonely and distressed, a nurse suggested simple play methods such as matching flower pictures using Hwatu cards and coloring with colored pencils.

Lee Suryeon, a 7-year veteran nurse and the protagonist of the photo that became a hot topic, explained, "In an isolation hospital, nurses are the only ones patients can talk to," and added, "I was thinking of ways to wake up and soothe the grandmother who was just dozing off continuously to help her regain energy."

Lee and nine other nurses took turns caring for Grandma Park. The nurses boosted the grandmother's spirits through art therapy and also connected her with her family via video calls.

Although tasks such as preparing meals and changing diapers for the dementia patient were demanding, they devoted themselves with the mindset of doing what they could during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee said, "Taking care of COVID-19 patients is scary because I might get infected too," but added, "All I can do is to care for the patients so that they feel reassured, receive good treatment, and get discharged safely."

Meanwhile, this photo was posted on Twitter on the 1st with the caption "Medical staff playing Hwatu cards with a grandmother in an isolated nursing hospital," and it became a hot topic. The photo was retweeted over 10,000 times and spread widely across various SNS platforms, gaining fame.

Netizens praised, saying, "It must be hard for her too, but she plays with the grandmother like that; it's definitely not an easy task," "The protective suit must be heavy, really admirable," and "Medical staff are the heroes of the COVID era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.