Coronavirus Latest: Former Villanova Lacrosse Player Goes From Field To Frontlines Of COVID-19 Battle
VILLANOVA, Pa. (CBS) -- A Villanova University student-athlete has gone from the lacrosse field to the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. At this time last year, Christine Graziano was juggling lacrosse and nursing school.
Now, Graziano finds herself on the frontlines of the coronavirus battle at a hospital in Morristown, New Jersey.
A lot of adversity she faced on the lacrosse field she now applies to nursing.
"As a student-athlete had taught me to never back down from a challenge. I felt as a younger, healthier nurse, it was my responsibility to volunteer and join in the fight," Graziano said.
Graziano's biggest challenge is limiting exposure to the virus.
"In each and every one of our patient rooms is an iPad so that patients can not only communicate with nurses and doctors but also their family and their loved ones," she said. "The patients in isolation are just as scared as us and they need to maintain a human sense of connection to understand they're not in this fight alone. So with these iPads, it's very beneficial to ensure they know that we're all in this fight together."
To get through these tough times, she counts on her family, as well as her Villanova family.
"Like my little sister, who's filming this, my friends, my teammates and my coworkers have been a huge help. It is just so incredibly encouraging to see everyone come together as a team in our efforts against the COVID-19 virus," Graziano said.
It's teamwork like none of us have seen before.
