A healthcare worker who performed EEGs (brain activity tests) on coronavirus victims soon found herself a patient in the same Florida hospital where she was treating patients. Rosa Felipe was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in March at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. With asthma and diabetes, Felipe soon found herself on a ventilator. Her family was ready to say their goodbyes. But the Miami Herald reports that her condition recently improved. However, when she came off the ventilator there was another unexpected complication:

After nearly five months of sinking and surfacing, flailing and floating in COVID purgatory, Felipe is on the verge of going home. She is a survivor among the 573 Jackson employees who have tested positive; three of their co-workers died.

But in her case, one of the most severe at Miami-Dade’s public hospital and the largest medical center in the state, the bargain for beating the disease is especially cruel. She expects to lose her hands and the career she loved.

Felipe says most of her fingers may now have to be amputated due to being immobile for so long. In spite of all that, the 41-year-old said, “I’m still grateful that I’m alive.” She spoke with Anderson Cooper last night and had a personal message for the CNN host that brought him to tears. Watch above.