Many of the heroes in the coronavirus pandemic are doctors and nurses, working long hours and risking their own health and safety.
A few nurses who call the Triad home are taking their skills to one of the hardest-hit areas of the country.
As of Thursday afternoon, North Carolina had more than 1,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Those numbers - just a drop in the bucket compared with New York City, a place with nearly 50,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases - and counting.
"The reason I got into healthcare 21 years ago, to begin with, was to be able to be there and make a difference to people," said Alan Grizzard, a registered nurse.
Grizzard deployed to help an emergency room in the Bronx for 21 days. After a long shift Thursday, he spoke with WFMY News 2 and said of the 150 to 160 patients coming to the ER each day - around 90 percent test positive for COVID-19.
"The city as a whole is overrun with COVID-19. The hospital system is taxed, nearly to the point of collapse," he explained, "It's a nightmare. We're in a war.. we're in a war with COVID-19.
"It's a mysterious virus, it's a powerful virus, it continues to mutate, and when you start putting a high density of people together - it's a recipe for disaster."
Winston-Salem State graduate and nurse Kayla Cummins will soon join the ranks heading up this weekend. Her shifts start Monday.
"The nurses there, I don't feel like, had a choice to be able to be in a place that's been hit the hardest. I do have that choice," she said.
She's hoping to provide some help and relief bringing along her own personal protective equipment.
"I put this post on my social media account - asking people to donate masks to me, and I've been given the N95 masks - the really important ones during this time - surgical masks, masks with shields, cleaning supplies, all kinds of things."
As Grizzard gears up for another shift on Friday, he hopes people truly understand their actions matter.
"Now I'm just scared for people," he said, "I'm scared for everybody. I want everybody to just be okay."
This current deployment to New York probably won't be his last. He and his family have already considered the fact he'll likely go back after this trip ends, and he spends a couple days back home.
