GASTONIA, N.C. — Alyssa Lobosco became a nurse to heal others, but now she’s on the road to recovery after contracting COVID-19.
In July, Lobosco traveled from northern New Jersey to work at CaroMont Medical Center in Gastonia.
Doctors can't say where she contracted the virus, but said her health turned critical.
Her parents, Pete and Dawn Lobosco, came down to be with her.
“I didn’t think that a 22-year-old with no prior conditions would become like this,” Dawn Lobsco said.
They walked her dog, Shelby, and often visited the lake near her home while watching their daughter through video chat with no change.
“Scary when you see your girl with a tube down her throat, lifeless,” Pete Lobosco said.
They had no idea how Alyssa would respond when doctors at Atrium Main took her off the ventilator Sunday, but they got the best news they could get from a doctor.
“'She is flying.' Those were his words,” Dawn Lobosco said.
It was the day after her 23rd birthday and her second week in the hospital.
Nurses at Atrium threw her birthday party in her room Saturday. Her parents watched by video.
The next day when the breath tube was removed, doctors said she had made progress.
"She has got a great heart, she is all heart," Pete Lobosco said.
In a video chat Tuesday, Alyssa pointed to the screen and mouthed the words, ‘My family’.
"Once she is on her way to be discharged this nightmare, this long nightmare will be over," Dawn Lobosco said.
Alyssa’s parents said once she recovers, they will get what they want most, a hug.
They told Channel 9 they have no doubt that as soon as she is able, she will return to work doing the job she loves.
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