SUDBURY -- A northern nurse is spreading words of encouragement on social media during the global pandemic.

Michael Semczyszyn is a registered nurse at Sensenbrenner Hospital in Kapuskasing. He cares for the sick during his shift but in his off hours, he’s offering words of encouragement to those living through the COVID-19 crisis.

"In the tough times of this pandemic, everyone seems to be seeing the negative numbers. I wanted to spin it around and give people hope." said Semczyszyn. "I wanted to post the positive numbers of people recovering from COVID-19."

Semczyszyn has been a nurse for almost three decades and works at the local hospital’s emergency room and the critical care department.

“By actually posting the number of people who have totally recovered, people in the general population are actually realizing that this isn’t a death sentence.” Semczyszyn said.