34-year-old Prea Nankieshore died Sunday from the coronavirus. The emergency room clerk had worked at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital since 2013.
“I asked her to stay home and she said the hospitals are getting overcrowded, doctors are working extra hard, and she feels that if she stays home, that she will be letting everyone down and she needs to go and do her part to help in any way possible.” said her fiancé Marcus Khan.
“I lost my best friend, I lost my soulmate, I lost the love of my life and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over this,” Khan said.
Nankieshore’s family says she loved her job, coworkers, and being able to serve the community.
After she got sick and became a patient at the hospital where she worked, sister Lisa Singh said she thought Nankieshore would beat the virus.
“I thought she would fight through this, but it was just too late,” Singh said.
“We mourn her loss and hold her family in our thoughts and prayers,” said Mary Curran, RN, chief nursing officer at LIJ Forest Hills in a statement.
“But as we grieve, we will also persevere in caring for our patients with the grace and strength that Prea displayed day in and day out,” Curran said.
Photos show a chalk tribute to Nankieshore is sketched on the sidewalk outside the hospital.
Friends and coworkers started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the two young children she leaves behind.
Family says Nankieshore’s parents are fighting their own battle against the coronavirus. Her mother is in the ICU and her father is recovering at home.