As provinces across the country begin to gradually lift lockdown restrictions and reopen their economies, the battle against COVID-19 continues in Canada's hospitals. 

In order to provide Canadians with a window into this hectic world, an emergency physician working for the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto is using days off and down time to capture photos of the hospital's battle against the virus.

Dr. Dawn Lim's photos have been posted to the UHN Facebook page, and they paint a picture of what frontline healthcare workers deal with on a daily basis amid the global pandemic. 

One photo, for example, shows anesthesiologists and nurses inserting a breathing tube into a COVID-19 patient experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue. 

Another shows an emergency physician clutching a baby monitor to communicate with the emergency medicine team of nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists at a patient’s bedside.

The photo essay also includes a picture of a coronavirus patient being rushed to the ICU after being stabilized and having a breathing tube inserted. 

The meticulous process of putting on personal protective equipment is also depicted in a photo, showing just how much time and effort goes in to protecting healthcare workers from being infected by the droplets generated when a breathing tube is inserted into a patient. 

Another photo shows a UHN Environmental Services worker tirelessly cleaning and disinfecting a room for the next patient. 

Meanwhile, an extremely heart-wrenching picture shows several doctors and nurses pausing in a moment of respect for a patient at the time of death. 

The photo gallery contains a total of 18 images, all of which help to tell a powerful story about what frontline workers are experiencing throughout the pandemic.

So while the rest of us sit at home anxiously awaiting the day we're permitted to go back to something resembling normal, these photos can and should serve as a reminder of just how heroic and brave our healthcare workers continue to be in the face of a global health crisis.