NHS worker surprises daughters after being separated for over two months due to contagion fears

'Leaving them was very emotional as I didn’t know how long it would be until I saw them again – I never expected it to be nine weeks,' says Suzanne Vaughan

A video of an NHS worker being reunited with her young daughters after spending more than two months away from them to work on the front lines has tugged at thousands of heartstrings.

Suzanne Vaughan, 43, stayed away from her daughters to keep them safe, as she worked in a hospital operating theatre and ICU at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

But when she finally got the chance to reunite with Hettie, seven, and Bella, nine, she was sure to capture the emotional moment on film to mark the end of the gruelling months apart.

In the video, Ms Vaughan is seen quietly sneaking up behind her children as they watched a programme on a laptop, oblivious to her presence.

She then says quietly: “What ya watching?” When her daughters realised who it was, they screamed “Mummy!” before embracing and crying.

Ms Vaughan, from Norfolk, told Sky News the original plan was to stay apart for a month, but “nobody knew at the beginning of this how it was going to go”.

“It was amazing to see them again, I missed the girls terribly. When they started crying I felt so bad but so relieved I was back with them.”

She had made the “really difficult decision” to send the girls to her sister’s home while she worked long hours on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis, adding: “it was a sacrifice that needed to be made”.

“Leaving them was very emotional as I didn’t know how long it would be until I saw them again – I never expected it to be nine weeks.

“But so many others have made the same sacrifices because we want to help people and fight this virus.”

The operating department practitioner (ODP) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Norfolk said for the last nine weeks she had put her work first, but now it “was time I put my girls first”.

She had been working 12-hour days and nights, and spent three weeks in ICU before transferring to the Covid A&E department assisting in airway management.

Ms Vaughan said she Facetimed her daughters every day and they always texted her good morning.

“There were many times I thought to myself I can’t do this anymore,” she said. “It was difficult the first few weeks, because i’d come home from work and they wouldn’t be there.

“It was dead quiet, no one running about or screaming or laughing, it was horrible. I don’t know what to do without them singing and dancing.”

But after nine weeks, the separation and overworking had taken its toll on her and she told her “incredibly understanding and supportive” boss she needed to reduce her hours back to normal.

The video drew tears for many who watched it, and Ms Vaughan received praise for her sacrifice to help save people who had fallen ill with Covid-19.

“These heroes haven’t made massive sacrifices for people to be t***s,” said one person on Twitter. “Please continue to have a care.”

“Beautiful. Also exactly why so many folk are still annoyed with Cummings. These are real sacrifices,” said another, referring to a controversial trip the prime minister’s top advisor made during lockdown, citing childcare as an exceptional circumstance.

As she enjoyed her time back with her daughters, Ms Vaughan also urged to public to continue following lockdown rules.

She said: “There are so many people making sacrifices and until you experience it yourself, you don’t always appreciate what has gone out.

“To see people suffer the way I have had to see patients suffer, I wish people could see the other side of it and think of other people.”