It has been hard for nurses in one of Scotland’s busiest hospitals to see the light at the end of the tunnel in the battle against coronavirus.

But now, one nurse has made sure the staff at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital have a glimmer of hope as they enter their sixth week of intensive work with an emotional video filmed entirely in sign language.

Jacqueline Pearson has been working on the front line in the hospital’s intensive care unit for the last two months, and says staff are facing what could be ‘the worst days of their career’.

But the 38-year-old could not bear to see the distress and heartache on the faces of her colleagues, and decided to help lift their spirits.

“We’ve all had to learn so many different skills and techniques since we started fighting this virus,” she told The Herald. “I come from the high dependency unit, and transitioning to the ICU was nerve-wracking.

READ MORE: Glasgow personal trainer says exercising daily is key to improving mental health during lockdown

“But the girls and I decided to learn Makaton together. It was something we could all learn at the same time, and add it to the massive list of skills we seem to be making for ourselves.”

In an emotional five-minute long clip, Jacqueline and her friend, Caroline Cuthbertson, pulled together videos of staff across the hospital and the community at large signing the words to Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years.

“We just wanted something bright to look at, to let everyone know that things will be okay and life is still going on,” she explained. “We hope that using Makaton will help give hope to even more people.”

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate, and Jacqueline said the skill, and the people she learned it with, will stay with her forever.

“It’s such a horrible time right now, but there are some moments of light,” she said. “I’ve made some lifelong friends with people I would never have known before.

“You can be on a shift and hardly know anybody because you’re all from so many different areas, but they’ll still support you and ask if you’re okay.”

Jacqueline, from Kilmaurs, initially found the change from her high dependency unit to the intensive care unit very daunting, especially when the number of positive Covid-19 patients was rising.

“I get really nervous about taking anything home to my family,” she admitted. “I have an 11-year-old daughter, and it can be really scary.”

Greater Glasgow and Clyde currently has the highest number of positive coronavirus patients, with 2,985 confirmed at the beginning of this week, as well as over 700 deaths.

Typically, the team work just over 12 hours each day, but say they cannot do more than two shifts in a row because of the physical and mental draining caused by being in constant contact with some of the country’s most vulnerable coronavirus patients.

“It can be very distressing,” Jacqueline explained. “You almost act like their family towards the end. Their relatives can only see them when they’re in end of life care, so you find yourself talking to the patient for weeks on end, and you form an emotional connection to them.

“You get very attached very quickly, and if your patient doesn’t make it, you find yourself grieving with the family.”

But while the tough times have taken precedence in the last few weeks, Jacqueline said the team are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

READ MORE: Tributes flood in for 'much loved' nurse Angie Cunningham who died from Covid-19 in Scots intensive care unit

One of her patients, a woman in her 30s, began breathing on her own on Saturday for the first time in four weeks – something with moved Jacqueline to tears.

“It was an absolutely magical moment,” she said. “It was the first shift that I came away from and I could have burst from happiness.

“My patient woke up and breathed for the first time on her own, and thanked and hugged me.

“It made the last six weeks of stress, heartache and trauma completely worth it.”

She said that the inspiration for her video came after the first three or four weeks of the heightened responsibility in the hospital, when all hope seemed lost.

“All the patients were really sick, and there was no light at all at this point,” she remembered. “All of the nurses, when you were passing them, they were so exhausted, and they had nothing to look forward to.

“We decided to do this video off the back of all this stress, and show them that were was something fighting for.”

Jacqueline’s story has been highlighted as part of The Herald Heroes campaign, which seeks to pay tribute to Scotland’s key workers, who are risking their lives to protect Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is being supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, who say the campaign is a chance to recognise all those who are fighting to keep us safe.

Malcolm Buchanan, chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland: “Every person in Scotland been affected by the current situation.

“As a bank where many of our colleagues and customers are neighbours, friends and even family, we understand the impact that it is having on every aspect of our lives – and how much we owe to those key workers at the frontline who are helping keep a heartbeat in our communities during these difficult times.

“This is why we are delighted to partner Herald Heroes. This is an opportunity for all of us to show our appreciation for the people giving their all, and in many cases, putting their lives on the line, to help all of us get through this and enjoy as ordinary a life as possible during extraordinary circumstances.

“We hope everyone takes the time to get in touch to say thank you to those individuals and organisations who are making a positive difference. From the nurse dealing with patients in ICU to the supermarket workers and refuse teams who make living in lockdown bearable, this is the chance to recognise what they do for us.”

If you know someone whose story should be highlighted, nominate them here