AMNA NAWAZ: Now, throughout the pandemic, our Brief But Spectacular segments have introduced us
to a number of wonderful and inspiring people, many on the front lines fighting this virus.
Tonight, we return to them, as they share with us what they're especially grateful for this year.
DR. CHOUMIKA SIMONIS, Internal Medicine Resident: I am an internal medicine
resident at a hospital in New York City.
MIKE SMITH, AIDS Memorial Quilt: I'm the co-founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
And I'm working these days on making masks.
RON DREW, Truck Driver: We are over-the-road truck drivers.
CHANTE DREW, Truck Driver: And we deliver groceries to all our 48 states.
DR. KAREN KINSELL, Clay County Medical Center: I work in Fort Gaines, Georgia, Clay County.
And I was the only doctor here for 15 years.
SAVOYA TAYLOR, Mother and Line Worker: I'm the only female
troubleshooter that Con Ed ever had in a 100-year history.
TARA RYNDERS, Artist and Nurse: I am a nurse, an artist, a dancer.
Over the last eight months. I have received a lot of hope
from the humanity that I experience on a daily basis.
DR. CHOUMIKA SIMONIS: My mother is a certified nurse's assistant at
a veterans home in Queens. Her resilience and grit, I have tried to channel that myself.
MIKE SMITH, Aids Memorial Quilt: It's been a really isolating year.
And I must say, I'm thankful for Zoom. It's been a great opportunity to reach out to people
by Zoom and other ways that I haven't seen in years. I really feel my own mortality these days.
And that can be a sad thing, but it can also be a life-affirming thing.
You never know how much time you have, and you need to use every minute of it. And
this year has been a reminder of that over and over and over.
KARLIN CHAN, Chinatown Mural Project: In August, I started the Chinatown Mural Project. I'm using art
for recovery. If everybody does their own little part, you know, we have a chance to survive here.
BRIDGET RHODES, 911 Dispatcher: When people call 911,
they don't often consider that we are a human on the other end of the lines.
No matter if it's just a noise complaint or somebody is having a heart attack, like, we care.
DR. DIANE MEIER, Geriatrician and Palliative Care Specialist: Under the circumstances
of the pandemic, the demand for palliative care skills and abilities has risen exponentially.
What gives me hope
is the recognition of the essentials in life. And the essentials are human connection.
RON DREW: I'd like to be hopeful and thankful that, at this time of year,
that we can put our differences aside and put the gauntlets down
and love each other and take care of each other and help each other get through.
DR. KAREN KINSELL: The pandemic, as horrific as it is. It also has improved health care in some
ways. We are doing much, much more virtual work. And those changes are going to last forever.
GERTRUDE KABWAZI, Yamba Malawi: Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. I'm truly,
truly grateful for the people that continue to pour their hearts and support the work that we do.
Although the world remain closed, their hearts remain open.
KATHERINE ZWICK, Psychotherapist: Two of the bigger challenges for me personally this year were
contracting COVID-19, and then being evacuated due to the California wildfires where I live.
You know, when we evacuated, it was like, just leave. And it became clear, like, how few things
that I own are actually important to me. Nothing else really mattered except for my relationships.
BETTY FERRELL, Oncology Nurse: I'm so incredibly grateful for all of my colleagues,
for every nurse, physician, social worker, chaplain, nursing assistant.
The nurse will call the family and say, we think it's going to be soon. You know, we're so sorry,
but your father's dying. And the daughter will say, oh, my dad, he loved to read Scripture.
He loved to -- he loved music, or I always thought I would be there to hold his hand.
And it makes me so tearful, but nurses are saying, oh, I will
go be the daughter. There's thousands of stories around this country of nurses that
went back in that room, not just as a nurse, but as a family member.
SAVOYA TAYLOR: The most challenging part of the last eight months for me
is definitely just getting used to these masks and just trying to keep from
contracting this disease and bringing it home.
I'm trying to protect my son, my 13-year-old son now. He was diagnosed last year with
Hodgkin's lymphoma. He is in remission right now. So, I want to keep him there.
Sometimes, I do get down, and I just -- like, enough is enough. But I just tell myself,
you know what? I got my children looking at me and depending on me. And I can't give up.
My name is Savoya Taylor.
KATHERINE ZWICK: My name is Kat Zwick.
GERTRUDE KABWAZI: My name is Gertrude Kabwazi.
DR. KAREN KINSELL: My name is Dr. Karen Kinsell.
RON DREW: I'm Ron Drew.
CHANTE DREW: And I'm Chante Drew.
BRIDGET RHODES: My name is Bridget Rhodes.
KARLIN CHAN: Karlin Chan.
TARA RYNDERS: Tara Rynders.
DR. CHOUMIKA SIMONIS: Choumika Simonis.
MIKE SMITH: I'm Mike Smith.
DR. DIANE MEIER: My name is Diane Meier,
and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on seeing patients as people.
BETTY FERRELL: On the compassionate care provided by nurses during COVID.
GERTRUDE KABWAZI: On resilience.
KATHERINE ZWICK: On surviving COVID.
SAVOYA TAYLOR: On courage.