Business Insider has reached out to the friends and family of the doctors, nurses, and support staff who contracted and died from the disease while trying to save others.
Wilkes was lauded by colleagues for her "commitment to family" and her "desire to live life to the fullest."A graduate of West Georgia Technical College, Wilkes received her Associate Degree in Radiology Technology,"Deidre was my work daughter, whom I loved dearly. She brought me such joy in watching her professional commitment, her love of God, her commitment to family, her desire to live life to its fullest," Cat Thompson wrote of her colleague.
Maternal mortality rates in Missouri are among the worst in the nation, especially for black women. "I remember her making comments to me of how impactful that was," Kuensting wrote. "Being a black nurse herself and overcoming adversities and implicit biases throughout her career, she could relate. She was driven to change the maternal and infant mortality for African-American women in the St. Louis area."
That's why it didn't surprise Sherron to learn that her brother had gone without protective equipment at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City so others didn't have to. Medical workers at Mt. Sinai complained of a lack of PPE and"Of course he shouldn't have been in that position, but I know he would," Sherron said. "That's the kind of person he was."
Sherron said that in the days since her brother's death, she has been hearing about the small acts of kindness he carried out on the job. At the time of his death, he and his husband Arnold Vargas had been planning to have children, Gabrin's best friend Debra Vasalech told BI. Gabrin, who started his career in emergency medicine as a Navy doctor, had survived cancer twice, his best friend said.
Nurse Araceli Buendia Ilagan, 63, died on March 27. She worked in the surgical ICU at Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida. "She's very thoughtful to her family," her niece, Jhoanna Mariel Buendia told BI. "We cannot accept that nobody was there to help her when she was suffering. We feel very helpless, we didn't get the chance to speak to her during her most difficult times."
The angels on the front line are appreciated my hope is that you are not forgotten about in this dark time because you have done such a selfless act i know god will see you home🙏