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A funeral has been held for an "amazing" nurse who died after contracting Covid-19 while working on the frontlines of the virus.
Dozens of NHS workers lined the street outside Margate's QEQM hospital this afternoon, to clap as Aimee O'Rourke's funeral procession passed by.
The mum-of-three Aimee O’Rourke died at the hospital on April 2, leaving behind daughters Megan, Mollie and Maddie.
The 39-year-old, described as an “amazing mum” and “one in a million”, had joined the QEQM’s acute medical unit as a newly qualified nurse in 2017 after training in Canterbury.
It is understood she started showing symptoms of the coronavirus about two weeks before her death, before her condition deteriorated and she was taken into intensive care at the QEQM and put on a ventilator.
She had been in a critical condition, with her family willing her to wake up before she sadly died.
In a touching post shared on Facebook, her daughter Megan, 18, wrote yesterday: "Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my entire life but I know I have the strength within me to get through it because you gave me your strength.
"It’s so unfair and I’m so sorry it had to happen to you but I’ll keep your legacy alive forever, that’s a promise.
"I’ll forever miss your beautiful face. Love you always."
Dozens of members of staff from the QEQM lined Ramsgate Road outside the hospital's main entrance this afternoon, to clap Aimee's funeral procession as it passed by.
Amanda Hallums, chief nurse at East Kent Hospitals, previously told how all who worked alongside Aimee are heartbroken at her death.
“It is devastating to lose one of our own,” she said. “Aimee was determined to provide the best possible care to all of her patients and continued to come to work at a time when others were staying at home and inside."
Writing on Facebook after the service, Aimee's daughter Megan said: "I am completely lost without you, but I’ll find my way. I have that determination and strength implanted in me from you mum.
"The recognition you’ve had is incredible and you were loved and always will be by many. I'm so lucky to call you my mum.
"The service was beautiful but the hardest part was leaving you there. It shouldn’t be this way.
"This isn’t goodbye, this is goodnight...sleep tight my precious mum, my soldier. My best friend. I love you."
A fundraising appeal set up to raise money for Aimee's children has received more than £36,000 in donations, while East Kent Hospitals Trust has confirmed a permanent memorial will be installed at the QEQM as a tribute to her memory.
To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.
Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury
