Whistleblower Blues in Fort Worth, Texas

It is a sad career that we are in, folks. I'm a nurse working in a nursing home. I was told of another nurse taking pictures of a bipolar patient after a horrific fall she had, ending in a fractured nose and split lip requiring stitches. This nurse then proceeded to email and picture message the photos to her friends outside of work, laughing and mocking the patient and her injuries. Hearing this, I became enraged. Can you imagine if you were an elderly woman, fighting depression, and had just had a horrible fall, leaving you both scared and in horrible pain, and then to stand there while the nurse takes pictures of you and laughs?
As soon as I found out about the incident, I went directly to my Director of Nurses and told her. She shrugged it off and said, "She's a young nurse and needs us to direct her on certain things". The situation was never reported, come to find out to state. Since I went to my DON in regards to this and many other instances of misconduct from the same nurse, I am now being retalitated against in more ways than I can explain. I am now being written up for EVERY possible error. The same errors, such as tardiness, that other nurses are NOT being written up for. I am so angry. Is this what nursing is REALLY about?
I have since reported it to the proper authorities, but am still being subjected to more retaliation than I can stand. Quitting is the only way that I see out. I've contacted several agencies, but to my err. There is no help out there for us. We are on our own, nurses and medical teams. As a nurse, you can only imagine the possible "set ups" that I could be in for. I have to leave. I hate it. These patients are dear to me and knowing that I am not going to be there to protect them hurts, even though I can protect them now, when I am there.
Everyone says there are whistleblower laws out there and such, but don't listen to them. It is outrageous what you have to endure to do right. In the end, the "bad" people win. End of story.
My advice? If you see wrong, report it, then quit. If you don't, you will be the target of unimaginable abuse yourself. There are NO options here.