Two central New York nurses are home after volunteering at a hospital in New York City and share their emotional experience.

Christina Pogue of Ilion and Trisha Allen of Lafayette spent three weeks at Maimonides Medical Center, a coronavirus hotspot in New York City.  "It was sad, scary, frustrating, mentally draining," said Pogue. "We fought to keep people alive, we held their hand when others couldn't, but with COVID-19 it was impossible to do both."

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Both nurses learned on the job, doing things like never before. "We had to mix medications we have never been able to before, forced to run ventilators because respiratory was short and I’ve never touched a ventilator before," explained Pogue. "It's just scary all the time. No matter what we did it just didn’t help."

As doctors and nurses worked around the clock in an environment unlike any other, the mental struggle also took a toll. "There's a constant fight in your head," said Pogue. "Knowing you could be putting yourself in danger. Knowing how it ends for most. So are you ready to say goodbye to your family for a stranger? There's just a thousand things going through your head."

"I don’t know how these nurses do this on a daily basis," said Allen. "3 weeks is more than my heart/mind can handle."

Both Christina and Trisha have been added to our Wall of Front Line Fame, honoring essential heroes. We'll salute them and every essential worker during MV @ Home, a 2 hour special featuring local and national talent, 8-10pm on Big Frog 104 and WFXV Fox 33 TV.

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"I don’t really feel like a hero," said Pogue. "I just feel like everyone else, trying help each other out during this time of crisis."



READ MORE: Inspiring Stories From the Coronavirus Pandemic

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