JACKSONVILLE, Fla — On Monday, a dozen COVID-19 nurses from Baptist Health returned from getting a front-and-center seat at Super Bowl LV.
The NFL honored 7,500 healthcare workers from across the country who cared for COVID-19 patients in 2020. They gave them a special tribute at Raymond James Stadium.
Not only do the nurses say this was a needed time-out from their hectic lives, one ICU nurse says the feeling of unity was so big he couldn't put it into words.
"It's really cool to be honored in a huge way like that," said Andrew Fowler. "But I think the bigger honor is I can take those moments when I'm with my peers and the people who have been out there and there's almost a unity that I was able to feel when I was there. I can't even put it into words, the feeling of all these past years just kind of culminating into those moments like that."
Fowler was also able to connect with other nurses from across the country. He says he'll remember during dark times that their experiences are similar.
"Everyone everywhere was going through the same thing," he said. "Sometimes you can get lost in the moment of feeling like, 'oh man I'm in this one unit and we're out here drowning,' but really looking back it has really been such an honor."
First Coast News wants to thank all of our health care workers as well.
