They are our heroes.

Many people are celebrating May 12, which is International Nurse’s Day and also Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday.

A lawn sign has popped up in the community to alert us that Nursing Week runs from May 11 to May 17 and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

“Once a nurse, always a nurse,” the sign says. “Today we celebrate all the nurses, the students, new grads, RPN’s, the RN’s, the practicing and non-practicing, the disable, retired and deceased.”

To the many patients “thank you for your patience and for letting us care for you and your families.”

“You all hold a special place in my heart,” the former nurse writes.

Dorota Gan urged people to live for today.

“One advice that keeps repeating in my 26-years of nursing is to live life now and not wait for the golden years,” Gan explains. “Treasure every day as if it was your last.”

National Nursing Week wraps up on May 17, with this year’s theme; Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health.