NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since last March Yale-New, Haven Hospital nurses Katrina Gallego and her roommate Emily Sattler have donned themselves every workday in the proper PPE as they help in the fight against COVID-19.
The pair have been best friends for years, graduating nursing school together, working together, and living together, they’ve been through a lot, including the pandemic.
Now Katrina, 28, is fighting a battle of her own, stage 3C breast cancer. Gallego was diagnosed back in March of 2021 nearly one year after the pandemic began.
“I was home one day and my armpit was a little sore and I knew it was swollen lymph nodes so I’m just feeling around trying to massage it out and then I move over and I was like 'oh my gosh,'” said Gallego
Undergoing five months of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, more radiation and likely another surgery, Katrina has remained a positive force both inside and outside the hospital.
“Katrina just brings this positive energy it’s all the time,” said Sattler “seeing her go through this it’s a whole new side and it’s incredible. It’s definitely hard but we’re going to get through it we got a plan we’re ready to go”
Completing her 7th chemo treatment this Monday, Gallego wants to continue to work but that might not be an option as treatments become more and more demanding.
Along with medical bills, reconstruction surgery and other future planning like fertility treatments her friends stepped in to help, creating a gofundme page.
“The main reason why I wanted to do this is because I kept hearing her say I should pick up a shift this week and this is the time that you should actually not pick up a shift. You should relax listen to your body and she couldn’t because cycling her head is how am I going to pay for all of this and I wanted her to not think about that and just focus on herself getting better” said Sattler
Katrina is grateful for the support she's received. "It’s life-changing number one number, two it’s a moment where it’s like what did I do to deserve this, to have a huge sense of relief that not everybody gets," said Gallego
You can donate to Katrina’s GoFundme page here.
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.