She was on the frontlines in New York City, a nurse practitioner who traveled to treat coronavirus patients.
Back at home in Litchfield Park, Nate Tumbleson was watching the national news. And ... there she was on the screen. His wife Jamie. It was only for a second. But still..
"I paused it and rewound it," he said. "And the kids were eating supper and I was like 'That's Mom!'And we rewound it and watched it again. It was like 2 seconds. But it made their day."
Jamie has been at Lincoln Medical Center in New York City since April 1. She always wanted to help in an emergency -- she just never thought her first mission be during a pandemic. Or her first time in New York.
"I felt guilty in a way," she told 12 News. "In Arizona, life is quiet and everything is fine and good and then you see your peers reaching out asking for help and they look depleted and exhausted. I just thought this is something I need to do and if I can do it, I should do it."
But that work has been grueling.
"One lady, she was pretty old, we couldn't do anything for her," she said. "Seeing her pass in the monitor, was really hard to see. No one wants to die alone basically and that's what's having to happen."
There are some triumphs, too.
"I've never been so happy to see someone come off a ventilator," she said. "And one lady- it took her a couple of days to regain her strength and her voice. but she wanted to FaceTime her family. so we did that for her in the room. that was just really sweet. She was very tearful. Her family was very grateful to see her alive obviously. it was just a moment of how precious your life is. You never know if you have today or tomorrow."
