A DISTRICT nurse is one of 50 “coronavirus heroes” to be featured in the new Blackpool Illuminations.
Katie Truelock and her son, Mason, were in the coastal town when the famous illuminations, which feature a projected image of her, were turned on Friday, September 4.
Ms Truelock was raised in Butterknowle and attended school in the village and later at Staindrop, before eventually signing up as a district nurse in Spennymoor.
She was nominated for the honour by her sister, Heather Bailey, who still lives in Butterknowle.
Ms Bailey said: “I had to write 250 words to nominate her – it just came from the heart really. She has had it quite tough and I am extremely proud of her.”
The nurse worked shifts of more than 12 hours at times.
Ms Truelock said: “The hardest part for me is that it was quite a lonely time. I shielded from all my family who all live in Butterknowle, so I never saw them.
“Even driving around, there was no one out – it was quite eerie.
“As district nurses, we worked staggered shifts so coming back to base there was only three or four of us – normally we would be about 20.
“Because we had staff that had to work from home, we had to cover for them. Sometimes we would come in at eight in the morning and work through to nine at night.
“We also had a new twilight shift from two in the afternoon to midnight to support the nightshift.”
She added that the Thursday night “clap for the NHS” events, particularly the first one, had been extremely emotional and it was great to get the recognition. She also said that community support had been amazing throughout with people bringing in hand creams, food parcels and other treats for the nursing team.
Ms Truelock learned that she had been selected for the Illuminations while on a holiday in Greece.
She said: “I got a message asking me to give consent and to provide a photo of myself. I didn’t realise it meant my face would appear in the illuminations.”
Ms Truelock and her son, along with a friend, have for several years made the trip to Blackpool for the weekend of the annual switch on. This year was no different.
She said: “It was a bit emotional, especially when my little boy noticed it was me in the lights.
“He was like ‘mam you are famous’.”
