Nurse who battled back from coronavirus returns to ‘be with my team during this war’

Nurse from Netanya returns to Laniado Hospital after recovering from coronavirus. “I came back to be with my team during this war,” she says.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Judith Isaacs, a mother of six, is the Head Nurse responsible for Laniado Hospital’s Emergency Room in Netanya. An important part of the hospital’s emergency response team, she was instrumental in the creation of the Infectious Diseases Unit, where coronavirus patients are treated.

But a few weeks ago Isaacs, her husband, and three of her children tested positive for the coronavirus. The infection didn’t happen because of Isaacs’ work at the hospital – the family was infected from someone in Einav, their town, which has a particularly high per capita infection rate.

“I tried my best to be as careful as possible,” said Isaacs to Israel Hayom. “Thank God, we all had it pretty mildly. Only my husband had a fever, and my kids were a bit sniffly and coughed a little bit.”

Because of her diagnosis, Isaacs was placed in home quarantine and had to manage the hospital’s emergency operations from a distance. “For the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been running the department from afar and it’s been a huge challenge.”

“I’ve been using phone calls, Zoom, and Whatsapp, and it was much harder than being there physically, but we did it. There’s an amazing team at Laniado Hospital who put their heart and soul into it, and they’re the reason I was able to keep managing from home.”

On Sunday, Isaacs returned to work. “I had two negative coronavirus tests and special permission from the Ministry of Health,” she said. “Although my husband and kids are still in quarantine, I can’t get reinfected because I’ve already recovered. And of course, when I’m at work, I take all the precautions necessary.”

The Emergency Room staff surprised Isaacs with a special welcome back reception. “They made a heartwarming video for me, which really strengthened my resolve to be back,” said Isaacs.

“When I entered the ER there was a ‘Welcome Back’ sign hanging up. But the main thing for me was coming back to be with my team during this war. Not one member of staff expressed reluctance about the personal risk they’re taking by being on the front lines like this. This attitude is what strengthens us during this war.”