NYC health care worker and COVID-19 survivor urges us to go virtual this Mother's Day

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COVID-19 survivor, NYC health care worker: Why staying home on Mother's Day is a 'matter of life and death'

Pediatric physical therapist Charrell Cooper is imploring families to maintain social distancing and celebrate Mother’s Day virtually based on her experience as a healthcare worker and as a survivor of COVID-19.

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Pediatric physical therapist Charrell Cooper is imploring families to maintain social distancing and celebrate Mother’s Day virtually this year because it’s a “matter of life and death.” Cooper spoke to Fox News from her experience both as a healthcare worker and as a COVID-19 survivor.

“I'm blessed for being able to have a body and an immune system that was able to recover from COVID-19, but not everybody's body can fight this,” explained Cooper. “Just because I was able to fight it doesn't mean that I don't think about everyone who wasn't.”

Cooper was a healthy 35-year-old with no underlying health conditions. Rather than supporting her team and patients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, she has been quarantined and sick at home since April 9. Cooper said, however, that the virtual support from her family, especially her mother and grandmother, has helped keep her spirits up even when she was at her lowest point of fighting the virus.

“My family was just always uplifting me, making sure that I felt supported and loved,” said Cooper. “And I think that positive energy, all the prayers, all the phone calls, all the good wishes are what mentally pulled me through.”

Cooper explained that the best way that she could give back to her family was to encourage as many people as she could to stay home for Mother’s Day. She wanted a larger platform and even got in touch with Shapewear marketplace Shapermint after seeing its #MakeTheCall initiative for people to continue social distancing guidelines no matter how their states’ stay-at-home rules have changed.

Cooper said that while she understands it’s difficult to physically not be near your loved ones, but it’s all about looking at the bigger picture.

“You don't want to risk exposing yourself or your family, and you still want them to be here,” said Cooper. “There’s going to be a day where we are over coronavirus and we're able to embrace and love each other, but if you're putting your family at risk, you take that away.”

For more on Charrell Cooper’s story, watch the full video above.