Nurses everywhere have a tough job right now, and that's certainly the case at the Sister of Charity St. Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga, Catholic Health's COVID-19-only treatment center. 

"I've wanted to be a nurse since I was 3 years old. It's always been my desire," said Brigitte Lewis, a registered nurse at St. Joe's.

For 33 years, Lewis has made that childhood calling a career.

"It's the best thing I could ever do with my life – be a nurse, help people, and I love every part of it," she said.

Nicole Sell shares a similar story, spending all of her 23 years as a registered nurse at St. Joe's.

"It's a little community hospital. It feels like home. Everybody is like a family here," Sell said.

Both women work in the intensive care unit. Since March 26, they have been exclusively caring for patients with COVID-19 after Catholic Health converted the hospital into a dedicated coronavirus treatment facility.

"We were all scared. We were afraid for our own health, for the health of our families back at home, for our fellow nurses," Sell said.

Each has children of her own at home. 

"We all started to cry because we didn't know what that really meant for us, for our family. Can we go home to our family?" Lewis added.

But through that fear they've forged ahead on the frontline of fighting this disease.

"It's back to the basics of nursing. Why you went into nursing," Sell said. "You're here to help people. If you don't do it, who will?"

Protected with masks, face shields, gloves and gowns, it's like nothing they've seen before – bedside with people who can barely breathe, battling for their lives with no loved ones allowed inside. The nurses say they become like family. 

"We are all they have," Sell said. "So if you can take the extra few minutes, to hold their hands, tell them you're there for them, you're doing all that you can for them, I think that means a lot to the patients."

It's nurses like Brigitte who keep them connected through video chats and phone calls.

"Sometimes we cry with the family because we are the mediator between them both," she said fighting back tears. "This is the hardest part."

Through all the dark moments, there are bright spots, especially when one of their patients is able to go home – like more than 250 have so done so far.

"This is really, really amazing because they play music overhead," Lewis said. "You hear the music you get all excited because you're like, ‘Oh my gosh, somebody's going home.’"

Cause for celebration during the toughest of times. 

"It's very fulfilling. We all have come together as a team and I believe that we're doing great work at St. Joe's," Sell said.