'People Are Beyond Sick': Colorado Nurses Return Home After Treating Coronavirus Patients In New Jersey
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)- Twenty-three nurses returned home to Colorado on Sunday, after volunteering to work in one of the hardest hit COVID-19 hotspots in the country. The nurses who work for Centura Health, responded to a call for help from health officials in New Jersey, where there have been over 10,000 deaths from the virus.
"It was just devastation," explained Amy Espinosa, a nurse who volunteered from St. Anthony's North. "People are beyond sick. That's the thing about this disease, is they are so sick."
Amy said when COVID-19 didn't hit Colorado as badly as she expected, she knew she wanted to travel to an area that could use her help.
"I kept seeing the news, and people begging for help," she told CBS4's Makenzie O'Keefe. "I just wanted to go, and I just wanted to take care of people and help our nurses."
Espinosa posted blog videos throughout her experience. In one, she explained that the virus "is taking many, many lives. And that is very hard to take in."
After a month working in an ER at St. Joseph's Health and Paterson in New Jersey, on Sunday she was able to head home.
"It's been a long four weeks without mama in the home," said her husband, Dewey Espinosa.
Amy, along with a handful of other Colorado nurses, arrived home at the Denver International Airport on Sunday. They were greeted by family and cheers.
"I just remember walking around the corner, and I saw my two baby girls and my husband and my sons and just, pure joy," she said, tearing up.
Meanwhile back at the family's home in Westminster, neighbors decorated her lawn with signs, streamers and balloons. People drove by, part of a car parade, to tell her thank you and welcome her home.
"Just being a part of this mission was enough for me," Amy said. "So to come and have all of this is just truly amazing."
Espinosa said she's thankful for the community support and knows that, will help her through the tough times she experienced working in New Jersey.
"It really makes me feel strong after what I've been through," she said. "I'm sure I'm going to think about all the deaths that I've seen and traumatic stuff and so I think, this just shows me that they're here in Colorado and they're going to support me and other nurses that are working hard."
Espinosa said she hopes that Coloradans continue to take precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus. You can learn more about her experience in her online video journal.
