Nurdan Taşkın, who has worked as a nurse for 14 years, is back on duty after recovering from the coronavirus. The 37-year-old mother of two warns members of the public who think, “I will not be infected,” and says you realize breathing without any problems is “a blessing” once you are infected.

Taşkın, an emergency room nurse at a public hospital in the southern province of Mersin, had been on the front line in the fight against the virus since March. Like her colleagues, she never neglected measures against the virus and toiled in suffocating head-to-toe protective suits. Yet, she discovered she was positive after a test on July 18. She was hospitalized for 13 days and spent 14 days in quarantine at home. Now caring for COVID-19 patients again, Taşkın pleads to the public not to neglect measures.

“We were being tested once a week. When we suspected a colleague was infected, we had another test. I already had symptoms before the test. I had a burning sensation in my eyes and a throat ache. Then, more pains kicked in, and I felt very tired,” she recalled of her first days with the virus, speaking to Demirören News Agency (DHA) Thursday.

“When I was first hospitalized, there was nothing in my lung imaging, but respiratory problems started a few days later. I was feeling like my lungs were stuck between bones. Then I was diagnosed with pneumonia,” she said.

The nurse said she only realized how blessed she was to be able to breathe when she went out to her house’s balcony and inhaled fresh air after her recovery. “If people do not want to experience what I went through, they should heed the warnings of authorities, should not stop wearing masks and should be cautious about social distancing,” she added.

Though she was ill, the nurse said she never stopped thinking about returning to work. “Others will avoid this risky environment but I am back here, working with positive patients. This is my post, and I will not leave it,” she said.