MIDLAND, Texas — 90 boxes of hot and fresh pizza are giving our healthcare community the morale boost they need to trek on.
A small token of appreciation for the heroes on the COVID-19 floor, and it's all because one COVID-19 patient wanted to do something to give back.
"It has been a roller coaster to say the least," Yvonne Salazar, COVID-19 patient behind this effort, said. "I've been up and down. I am fully vaccinated, so I'm one of those breakthrough cases."
Yvonne Salazar is a teacher at Midland ISD with two daughters. She's been seeing firsthand how dedicated our hospital workers are.
"I've had an excellent team of nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, cleaning staff, personal care assistants, even the people that come and deliver the food, friendly and they've just worked so hard every day," Salazar said. "There's no amount of gratitude that can just express how much I appreciate what they are doing."
Yvonne isn't the only one who is grateful for our health care heroes. So many community members chipped in, including a local nonprofit called Hearts Abide.
This organization decided to donate their pizzas to the mother and baby areas at Midland Health.
It took three different Little Caesar's locations to fill this order, but the hospital is grateful.
"We see so much of just stress," Kit Bredimus, chief nursing officer at Midland Memorial, said. "We are continually stressed and we are always looking to try to get past this wave. When we have something like this that shows up and we've got food or snacks or those thoughts and appreciation, it really does make a huge difference and it really tells, the whole mood lifts up."
The Facebook group, called "Thank a Healthcare Hero" has another event this weekend. They'll be meeting on Sunday, Aug. 29 to thank MMH staff. If you'd like to attend, you can park on the roof of the parking garage next to the hospital.