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Martha Navarro started her career in nursing 29 years ago. She says the day she decided to become a nurse, she was caring for her ill father and felt it was her calling. Her job is not a profession; it’s a passion.

“A passion to help people, to serve patients when they need it. To see the recovery and progress of that disease that they suffer,” Navarro told Reuters.

Navarro is 59 years old and has a 16-year-old son. She has steadily worked her way up to become an ICU Nurse Manager at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.

The coronavirus pandemic is one of the most challenging times Navarro has ever worked in, and it’s taking a toll on her team.

“Seeing them calling and telling me that they’re sick because they either been exposed, they’ve been, they actually have come in contact with the virus, that is the toughest thing, because I don’t know how they will recover,” she said. “As it is, we’re very short staffed. We’re working on a skeleton crew and my staff is getting exhausted.”

The hardest part is going home after a tough day at work.

“I cry, there are times when I cry in the car. I’m sorry. Having to see my family, explaining to them why maybe I am not emotionally ready or prepared to be sharing a dinner with them, or why I am not there with them because I have to stay here long hours,” she said.

“They say they understand, but in reality when a 16-year-old needs his mother and she’s not there, it is very difficult.”

Navarro says she’s hopeful she’ll be one of the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as her hospital is one of the sites chosen to distribute the treatment. She says the benefit outweighs the risk and is willing to take the vaccine to protect her family and her community.

With Christmas just two weeks away, Navarro says her only wish is to have “some kind of normality” and go back to having family reunions.