Love On The Front Lines: Couple Meets While Working At Worcester DCU Field Hospital
WORCESTER (CBS) -- The state's only remaining COVID-19 field hospital at Worcester's DCU Center closed last week, leaving many of the staffers to scatter. But two are moving forward as a couple. Nurse Colleen Clougherty and physical therapist Dr. Josh Kudo fell in love while working side-by-side on the front lines.
Clougherty is from Webster. Kudo is from East Hampton. Both have spent much of their young medical careers traveling to places of need. It was no surprise that each ended up bringing their dedication and compassion to Worcester's makeshift field hospital.
"She was in the break room and we locked eyes and that was it," said Kudo.
Their attraction went unspoken for weeks. It was only when Clougherty made it known that she was moving on to another assignment in Texas that an innocent lunch run became something more.
"He asked, can I be really awkward for a second? And I said of course you can," Clougherty recalled.
And from that day until when Clougherty left for Austin, the two were inseparable.
Now that the DCU field hospital is closed, Kudo is headed to be with Clougherty in Texas, each keenly aware how good things can rise from a dark time.
"I think it really throws things into perspective when you're put in an environment like that," said Kudo.
"The DCU Center in general was kind of a ray of sunshine in a lot of different ways," said Clougherty.