A team of solicitors have put up a sign up in the heart of Letterkenny to thank frontline workers enduring the current wave of Covid-19.

Gibson & Associates Solicitors’ new #HoldFirm sign takes a prominent position on their building at Station Roundabout.

This sign of gratitude was prompted by the story of emergency medical dispatcher at the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Kevin Shields.

Kevin wrote a hard-hitting post on Facebook highlighting the daily realities faced by frontline staff in 2021.

“The respect is gone. The appreciation is gone. The understanding and patience is gone,” Kevin wrote.

He talks about how there are no more coffee and meals, no more ‘thank yous’, no more heart shaped lights in hotel windows, no more neighbours waving us off to work, and the media pointing out the shortcomings even though the number of patients has doubled.

“For the first time ever, our Covid-19 cases within hospitals have risen above 1,000 and as the situation in Ireland is turning grave, we don’t want the heroic efforts of frontline workers to lessen in appreciation,” said Gibson & Associates Solicitors.

“We, therefore, shine a light on frontline healthcare workers as they go through their third wave of Covid-19. At Gibson & Associates Solicitors, we have placed a sign on the door of our building which shows our support and gratitude to the work that the healthcare workers are doing.”

An extract from Kevin’s post says:
We are still here. We are still fighting. We are working harder than we ever have.
We are exhausted.
We are frustrated.
We are frightened because we may take this home to our Loved Ones.
We are so emotionally and physically drained.
We are skipping breaks and eating whatever is handy just to keep us going.
We are going in early and coming home late.
We are working too many double shifts.
We are missing time with our families.
We are doing THE. BEST. THAT. WE. CAN.
We aren’t “healthcare heroes” anymore. We have become slaves to this pandemic, and it is really exhausting.
Stay at home wear a mask and protect your loved ones.

Gibson & Associates Solicitors added: “This really hit hard for us, and we just wanted to let the frontline workers know that we have not forgotten about you, we acknowledge your hard work, and we just want to say THANK YOU. “