British Paramedic Starts Crying On Way To Work As Street Claps To Show Appreciation

Mar 30, 2020 by apost team

As 22-year-old Tayla Porter left her home to go work as an emergency care assistant this past Thursday, her entire Basingstoke, Hampshire neighborhood began to thank and applaud her for her service in helping to combat the coronavirus outbreak, reducing the ambulance worker to tears.

Porter was so overwhelmed that she buried her face into her hands while her family members — mother Ali, father Phil and sister Tash — watched as their usually quiet neighborhood cheered their daughter on.

After community members had posted about participating in last Thursday's Clap For Carers — a nationwide event in the UK in which millions of Britons collectively thanked healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic — Porter’s 55-year-old mother mentioned online that her daughter would be going to work at Basingstoke and North Hampshire hospital at 4 p.m. the same day, according to Daily Mail. That led to neighbors in the small Basingstoke village to gather outside in front of their houses to thank the 22-year-old ambulance worker for her service.

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Beyond clapping for the young healthcare worker, the neighbors also left a homemade cake and packet of Cadbury's Miniature Heroes on top of her car, according to Daily Mail.. A video of the neighborhood’s thank you spread like wildfire across social media with over 700,000 views and nearly 50,000 shares on Facebook.

“It was overwhelming for all of us,” Porter’s mother Ali told Daily Mail. “Tayla just couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that people would even notice what she's doing. She just loves her job.” Porter, who says she hopes to become a lead paramedic, is so dedicated to her job that she skipped her sister’s 21st birthday in order to go to work during this healthcare crisis.

Last Thursday’s Clap For Our Carers campaign comes after healthcare workers across the world have had to risk their lives and reckon with an influx of new coronavirus patients. In an interview with The Guardian, the creator of the Clap For Our Carers campaign, Annemarie Plas, said that she was “so grateful” to see her idea spread across the nation on Thursday. The Dutch citizen, who lives in south London, said she was inspired to start the campaign after seeing footage of similar efforts to thank healthcare workers in France and Spain, according to The Guardian.

As night fell on the UK last Thursday, millions joined in to participate in #ClapForOurCarers from their balconies, backyards, windows and via social media. Community members also joined in with whistles and pots and pans to add to the collective thank you. The campaign was, in fact, so successful that the hashtags #clapforourcarers and #thankyouNHS trended on social media throughout Thursday, according to The Guardian. In honor of Britain's National Health Service, the country’s publicly funded healthcare system, buildings across the UK also turned blue, which people associate with the health system.

Porter’s community is even more evidence that the Clap For Carers Campaign spread far and wide to bring people together in the collective fight against this new virus. Even though Porter left hours before the official campaign began at 8 p.m., her neighbors were ready to thank the young paramedic.

“It's been so overwhelming. It's amazing how everyone has come together. I feel like our village is closer,” Ali told Daily Mail. “You've got more time for people and appreciate them more now.”

How have people in your community thanked healthcare workers? Let us know and pass this heartwarming video on to friends and family.