It was almost two months ago when a Watertown couple, the Fitzgeralds, were hospitalized with COVID-19. With both being older than 80, this story could have very well been a tragedy.


What You Need To Know


  • A Jefferson County couple in their 80s successfully beat COVID-19

  • COVID-19 success stories are inspiring those on the front lines who have seen so much tragedy

  • A team of Samaritan nurses also helped the Fitzgeralds through post-COVID-19 physical therapy

However, thanks to the Fitzgeralds' love and spirit, combined with the help of the nurses they saw every day, their story became inspirational to those on the front lines.

"It's refreshing. It's motivating for us to see people get better from this," Samaritan Medical Center ICU Nurse Katie O'Brien said.

Make no mistake: A month before this going home parade through the halls of Samaritan Medical Center, the deck was stacked against Jack and Carol Fitzgerald. The couple was hospitalized and placed in the intensive care unit as they began battling COVID-19, a situation that humbled just about everyone, including the couple's nurse.

"It takes a lot of work, physically, to get all garbed up and put on your gloves and your gown and your mask and your face shield. Then, you walk in the room and you realize, 'I have it easy,' you know what I mean? Me putting all this stuff on, it's cumbersome, but this person is fighting for their life," O'Brien said.

The Fitzgeralds had their fight. However, they also had people like O'Brien fighting with them. While in the ICU, the couple was separated for weeks. Their health needed to turn a corner in order for that to change.

It took two weeks, but the fight was stronger than the virus, and it brought some much-needed inspiration to O'Brien, who had seen just how bad it actually was.

"We brought Mrs. Fitzgerald to see Mr. Fitzgerald through the glass, and that was really a pretty incredible moment," O'Brien said.

It was a moment that turned just another patient into something much more personal: one that showed the hard work, the hours, and the personal passion mean something.

"It's been an overwhelming experience overall, but it is all worth it when you watch these people walk out and go home," O'Brien added.

Despite being COVID-19-free, it would take nearly two more weeks before the Fitzgeralds would actually get out of the hospital. The sickness had taken quite the physical toll on both Jack and Carol, and now a new set of nurses would need to figure out just how exactly to get them to take that final step in heading home.

Check back Tuesday for part two of this story.