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LONG BEACH, Calif. – As a veteran ICU nurse whose job is to care for the most critically ill patients at her hospital in Long Beach, California, Merlin Pambuan was well aware of the deadly ravages COVID-19 can inflict on the human body.

Last spring in a tragic role reversal, Pambuan became one of those patients – admitted to the intensive care unit of St. Mary Medical Center, her workplace for the past 40 years, where she was rendered unconscious by paralysis-inducing sedation and placed on a ventilator to breathe. A feeding tube was later added.

She came close to death on several occasions, her doctors later revealed. So dire was her condition at one point that end-of-life options were discussed with her family.

By the time she awoke and could breathe on her own again, she was too weak to stand. But she fought back and struggled through weeks of painful therapy to regain her strength and mobility, celebrating her 66th birthday in St. Mary’s acute rehabilitation ward in late October.

On Monday, Pambuan beat the odds of her 8-month ordeal by walking out the front door of the hospital, drawing cheers, applause and exhilaration from colleagues lining the lobby to rejoice in her discharge.

“This is my second life,” Pambuan said moments earlier, as she prepared to leave her hospital room, accompanied by her husband, Daniel, 63, and their daughter, Shantell, 33, an aspiring social worker who spent months at her mother’s bedside as her patient advocate and personal cheerleader.

The spectacle of Pambuan striding slowly but confidently through the hospital lobby – she had insisted on making her exit without assistance of a wheelchair or walker, although was still connected to supplementary oxygen – marked a transformative victory for the diminutive but tough ICU nurse.

‘WHAT WE LIVE FOR’

The outpouring of affection she received from colleagues – including many of the physicians, fellow nurses and therapists who took part in her care – also reflected a rare moment of communal triumph for the pandemic-weary hospital staff.

“This is what we live for… seeing our patients going home alive and in good condition,” said Dr. Maged Tanios, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at St. Mary. 

He said Pambuan’s recovery was especially rewarding since she is part of the hospital’s extended “family.”

Tanios said he was not aware of other St. Mary medical staff being admitted to the ICU for COVID. However, studies show frontline health-care workers’ frequent, close contact with coronavirus patients puts them at higher risk of contracting the disease, hence the decision to give them top priority in getting immunized.

Pambuan’s discharge, ironically, coincided with the recent roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines to medical workers, as well as a crushing surge in coronavirus infections that have overwhelmed hospitals, and ICUs in particular, across California.

Pambuan said she has no recollection of the 4 months she spent hooked to a breathing machine – from early May to early September – but recalls first waking up from deep sedation unable to move her extremities.

With encouragement from nursing staff and her daughter, Pambuan said she grew determined to regain her mobility and her life.

“I said, ‘No, I’m going to fight this COVID,'” she recounted. “I start moving my hand [and] a physical therapist come and say, ‘Oh, you’re moving your hands,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight. I’m trying to wiggle my toes. I’m going to fight it.'”

Pambuan spent the last few months of her hospital stay undergoing physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue recuperation from home, while making peace, she said, with a change in pace.

“It’s going to be very difficult for me,” she said. “But I have to accept it, that I’m going to be on oxygen for a while and slow down a little bit.”

When or if she will return to work in the ICU remains an open question, she said.

In the meantime, Pambuan said she feels indebted to her co-workers for their “really professional” care, grateful for the support of loved ones and newly convinced of the power of optimism.

Her message to others in her shoes – “Don’t lose hope. Just fight. Fight, because look at me, you know. I’m going home and I’m walking.”

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Dr. Anthony Fauci has become a household name as families stay tuned for news about the coronavirus pandemic. But comments in the news from the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases may not answer the questions kids have about COVID-19.

So kids’ news podcast “The Ten News” held a town hall this week, sharing an episode in which Dr. Fauci responded to questions from kids about the virus and discussed when the world will seem to go back to normal.

In addition to sharing that he’s a dog person, not a cat person, and talking about what it was like to throw a pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game, Fauci, who has three daughters of his own, offered patient and sweet advice to kids who shared their biggest worries on the podcast.

What exactly is your job?

The 79-year-old explained that his “big job” is to direct the NIAID, which is responsible for researching all infectious diseases.

Fauci is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force.

“That’s the reason you see me on TV a lot,” he said. “I get out there and talk about the public health measures that we need to do to stay safe and avoid infection.”

If everyone stayed home for two weeks, would COVID go away?

Fauci said it’s unlikely.

“It likely would decrease COVID, but I don’t think two weeks is enough to have COVID just disappear,” he said. “Right now, it’s very, very prevalent in the United States.”

What will help the problem, Fauci explained, is abiding by safety measures like mask-wearing, hand-washing and avoiding large crowds.

“Except when you’re with family,” he added, “that’s OK, but you don’t want to have big parties and social gatherings right now.”

Someone in my class got coronavirus. Even though I wore a mask, will I get it?

“If you wore your mask faithfully every day, the chances of you getting corona because you were exposed to someone is low, so I wouldn’t worry about it,” Fauci answered. “But, it is not zero, and that’s the reason why you have to quarantine.”

Can pets carry coronavirus?

Fauci said there are rare incidents of cats and other domestic animals being able to carry coronavirus. However, the chance of catching the virus from a pet is low.

“We don’t want children to be worried that their pets are going to be dangerous to them,” Fauci answered. “So don’t worry about it, you can give your pet a big hug.”

When are kids going to be able to get the COVID vaccine?

Before kids get vaccinated, Fauci said it’s important to be absolutely sure the vaccine is safe for “vulnerable populations.”

“Two of the most important vulnerable populations that we want to take extra special care of are children and pregnant women,” he said, explaining it will take some time to monitor adults who are currently receiving the vaccine before it will be deemed safe for kids and expectant moms. “I think a few months from now children will likely be able to get vaccinated.”

If I have an allergy, will I still be able to get the COVID vaccine?

Fauci said some adults who have a tendency to have allergic reactions to vaccines have had reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine. While that doesn’t mean people with a history of allergic reactions can’t get vaccinated, it does mean “extra special” precautions will need to be taken.

“You’ll be in a place where if you do get an allergic reaction, you have somebody there that knows how to treat it,” he said.

If I already got COVID and I’m feeling better, do I have to get the vaccine?

“The answer is yes,” Fauci said. “The reason the answer is yes is that we don’t know how long following infection you are protected against reinfection. So just to make doubly certain you’re protected … you should actually get a vaccine.”

I do not like shots.

“I don’t think anybody really likes shots,” said Fauci. “But I’ve gotten a lot of shots in my day and I can tell you that at the worst, it’s a little pinch. You’ll see when you get vaccinated that you’re going to say the following: ‘Wow, that wasn’t that bad.'”

How long until everyone has the vaccine and everyone goes back to normal? And when can I start having sleepovers again?

Fauci said it all depends on how many people decide to get the vaccine.

“That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to get vaccinated,” he explained. “It’s going to take several months to get the overwhelming majority of people vaccinated, and then once that happens, I believe we can think in terms of getting people together for things like sleepovers and things like that.”

Will we stay immune for life after we get vaccinated?

Fauci said he isn’t sure how long the vaccine will last.

“It is conceivable that we’ll have to get booster shots,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

“The Ten News” host Bethany Van Delft closed the town hall by asking Fauci what message he’d like to send to kids about the pandemic.

“Don’t get discouraged,” Fauci said. “Things are going to get better. They’re going to get back to normal, you’re going to be able to play with your friends, you’re going to be able to go to school without worrying about it, you’re going to have parties and have fun. This will end, I promise you.”

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Dec. 8, 202002:14

Terri Peters

Terri Peters is a writer and editor for TODAY.com and editor of the TODAY Parenting Team. She lives in a small beach town on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband and two kids. When she isn’t writing, Terri can be found feeding her backyard flock of chickens or exploring Florida’s theme parks and beaches with her family.

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