You look so good!
Thank you, thank you.
Oh my gosh, it's so good to meet you.
You as well.
You are a frontliner in New York City.
Yes, I am a nurse, nurse practitioner,
working the front lines.
I'm currently seeing patients and calling
them regarding their COVID test, giving education, following up
with them.
Wow.
Well, first of all, thank you for doing all the work
that you're doing.
You're welcome, It's my pleasure.
It's a lot.
I live in New York also, and I've
seen the devastation that's been happening.
But also you are a mom of four.
What are the names and the ages of all your babies?
Yes.
So I have Jalen.
He's 16.
You have a 16 year old?
No.
I do, I do.
I do.
I have Elijah, he's four, and then
I have a set of fraternal twins and they're 14 months.
Oh my God.
Carrington and Kensley, Kensley's
the youngest and the only girl.
Oh, so she's the queen.
Indeed.
She senses it too.
She knows.
And especially when you're gone, she's definitely the queen.
Yes, all right.
And you were in Atlanta and you got a call
to go to New York City to live there.
Away from your children, away from your newborns,
away from your husband.
I mean, that is a very big decision to make.
What did your husband think of that?
He is phenomenal, incredible.
He knew that it was my passion to help.
I came from an oncology background,
and so I knew it was important for me to, again, be an impact.
A lasting impact.
And so he knew that this is my passion.
And so he supported me every step of the way,
still supports me every step of the way.
But it's great when I get to come home, too.
Yeah.
OK.
And am I getting this straight?
You were also sending breast milk?
You were pumping?
Wait, hold on, I just need to paint the picture.
You have PPP on, like, your face, your body.
And then you're going into a room, and you're pumping?
What?
So at this point, we only had to wear a PPE,
I'm sorry, when we had to go into the patient's rooms.
Outside of the room, I just kept my mask on.
And so I would go into the corner.
All of my colleagues would know that, hey, what time it was.
Every two hours, I was in the corner.
I said, hey, guys, don't mind me, this is what I have to do.
And they would even offer to carry my boxes to the bus
or into the building, so I could mail it on my lunch break.
So yeah.
It was an experience.
But, hey.
As a mom, you make decisions.
And it's a no-brainer.
It's a no-brainer.
Yeah.
It's a no-brainer.
I know exactly how you feel.
How often do you even get to see your family?
I try to go at least once or twice a month.
Before now, I didn't get a chance
to see them for about a month and a half,
and then I had a chance to come back for the summer,
and then went out again to a different location.
But now I get a chance to see every--
once a month or at least twice a month.
Well, we have a little surprise for you.
Hello, hello!
Hi, guys!
Hi!
I didn't expect this.
Thank you.
Hi.
Here you go, honey.
Just in case.
Hey, how are you?
I'm wonderful.
You could have at least give me a head's up or something.
Girl, you know what happens on the Ellen Show.
It's all about surprises.
I'm going to mess up of all my makeup.
They told me to keep it secret.
But I definitely want to say, we love you, we miss you.
We're extremely proud of all that you're doing,
the work that you have done on the front lines of COVID.
And as a husband I couldn't be more
proud of your accomplishments thus far.
And I want you to continue to be an inspiration
and to continue to walk in your divine purpose.
Thank you.
That's so beautiful.
Oh my God.
You guys have such a strong marriage.
OK.
Hi, Jalen.
How are you?
You're so handsome.
Good, how are you?
Good.
Is there something that you'd like to say to your mom, also?
Of course.
So Mom, I just want to say you look beautiful right now.
[INAUDIBLE]
Thank you.
I really dressed up.
But me and everybody else, we miss you so much.
Just seeing you do what you do, you just look so amazing.
The things you do for us, you're like my hero.
Thank you
Words can't describe how much I love you.
The things you do for us.
And you're like the Wonder Woman of our family
and every time I see you do what you do,
it just makes me feel stronger.
It makes me want to go out and do my best in everything I do.
Wow.
I just want to say I love you and miss you a lot.
Thank you, thank you.
That's amazing.
All right, so we're going to have to take a break,
but more with Dakoyoia and her family after this.
We will be back.
We are back with the incredible nurse
Dakoyoia and her adorable family in Atlanta.
So, Dakoyoia, when do you actually
get to return home for good?
I know.
So the plan is hopefully this summer.
Now that we're transitioning into the vaccination stage.
Right.
At least by the fall, at the very latest.
Well, I feel like you deserve a vacation.
Thank you.
And you are a hero who has sacrificed
so much to take care of others, so we want to take care of you.
And we want to send you and your whole family to Hawaii.
Oh my God.
Thank you so much.
Thanks so much.
OK, so you're going to be getting a five night
stay in the oceanfront two bedroom
suite at a beautiful Prince Waikiki on the island of--
how do you say it?
O'ahu.
And you'll also be enjoying a beach activity package
where you can paddleboard, and you can kayak,
and so much more.