'The Best Is Coming Out In So Many People': Nurses, Patients & Neighbors In Mount Vernon Join Together In Coronavirus Fight
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- All around the tri-state area, so many people have joined the battle against the coronavirus.
In one town, a group of neighbors is fighting on all fronts and helping each other out around the way.
On a square block in Mount Vernon, New York, the fight against COVID-19 is on.
After nurse Kelly Houlihan, of Carwall Avenue, finishes playing with her two daughters, she heads to the COVID ward at New York Presbyterian.
"It's pretty intense. It is kind of like how people are describing it, like a warzone," she said.
Just around the corner on Denman, Mark Kramarchuk takes a walk, before the 26-year-old nurse with 11 months under his belt walks into NYU Langone to help save lives.
"Did you have any idea you were signing up for this?" CBS2's Dick Brennan asked.
"No, definitely something I did not see signing up," Kramarchuk said.
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And the fight against COVID is not just by not just by nurses, it's by patients too.
That includes 79-year-old Ginny Cramer.
"How are you feeling?" Brennan asked.
"Better! Much better," Cramer said.
Cramer, known as "Ginny from the Block," has beaten COVID.
"I'm working to get a little fresh air and vitamin D," she said.
She got a leg up on her recovery from neighbors like Tom and Cathy Collins, who continually delivered home-cooked meals.
"I'm so fortunate to have such wonderful neighbors. They've taken such wonderful care of me," Cramer said.
And those who lend a hand deserve one too.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ Health Dept. | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211
Houlihan says she volunteered to work in the coronavirus unit.
"I think nurses just have that, and all medical people have this, innate sense of duty, or a call to do the right thing when we can," she told Brennan, before being interrupted by her daughter calling for "Mommy."
There's no rest for the mommy, or the weary.
"It is draining and taxing, mentally, physically," Kramarchuk said.
"What's it like when you get that applause?" Brennan asked.
"I have not yet had the applause in the city or here," Kramarchuk said.
But his neighbors support him. Sometimes it takes a village, or just a block, to make a difference.
"I've learned about human spirit and human will and how in this horrible time, that people can just, the best is coming out in so many people," Houlihan said.
She's been getting gifts left on her porch, like two boxes of chocolates.
A hero getting her just desserts.