SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 4, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah nurse who spent days battling COVID-19 in a New York City hospital received high praise for her heroic work, and not just from her friends and colleagues; she’s also been noticed by one of the biggest names in pop music — the one and only Taylor Swift.
In a post on social media Sunday, Whitney Hilton, a registered nurse at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, revealed she had received birthday greetings and a handwritten letter from Swift herself, thanking Hilton for her frontline work in the battle against coronavirus, and for her devotion as a pop music fan.
Swift reportedly learned of Hilton’s selfless service and her love of the singer’s music after a member of the nurse’s family managed to contact Swift’s team.
“I need to PUBLICLY THANK TAYLOR SWIFT @taylorswift & taylornation13 @treepaince for sending me a box full of Merch & a PERSONALIZED LETTER from Taylor herself for my 30th birthday/for going to NYC to help as a nurse,” Hilton said on Twitter. “This was quite literally the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.”
Hilton was among the dozens of Utah nurses, physicians and other caregivers who volunteered to be dispatched to NYC as part of Intermountain Healthcare’s COVID-19 Response Team. She was assigned to the intensive care unit at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center in hard hit Queens, where 32,749 cases have been reported, along with 1,994 deaths borough-wide, according to the New York City Health Department.
A number of the medical professionals who volunteered to be deployed by IHC have provided a running blog, recounting, in sometimes stark detail, the intense and often traumatic struggle to save patients’ lives, in what’s been described as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“This is a humbling experience,” Hilton wrote, back on April 19, the fifth day of her deployment. “I have so much to say but almost too overwhelmed to say it all. New York has been hit HARD. The people need help, the nurses need help, the doctors need help, everyone needs help. This is crisis mode like I’ve never seen. This is an incredible experience, albeit the hardest thing I’ve ever done AND equally the most rewarding.”
Swift has been moved by Hilton’s bravery and suggested they meet somewhere down the road.
“I wanted to send you some presents and to let you know I am so grateful for you,” the note says. “I can’t thank you enough for risking your life to help people and for spreading the message loudly that people need to hear about taking this seriously. Also, I saw the photo of you from my show! Thank you for coming! I would love to give you a hug next time and thank you in person. With love and admiration, Taylor.”
