Brave cancer nurse sent goodbye texts to colleagues before being put on ventilator with virus
Pauline McIlroy, a breast cancer nurse at the Beatson specialist cancer centre in Glasgow, collapsed with coronavirus at the clinic she runs.In hospital, as her breathing deteriorated, she was told she needed to be ventilated.But despite her poor health, she refused to allow the procedure to go ahead until she was able to speak to husband Ian, 60, and 23-year-old daughter Rhona.She admitted: “I thought this might be the last phone call I may ever make to them.”She was unable to get a hold of them at first, so she called her twin sister Jacqueline to tell her the news and ask her to track them down.But as she waited, she sent WhatsApp messages to her breast team colleagues.Pauline said: “Before I was ventilated, I sent messages to them