Ana Wilkinson, a nurse, who became known for cheering people up with her dancing throughout the pandemic, has tested positive for coronavirus.
The famous and heroic health care provider, who is based in San Diego, California, tested positive for COVID-19 on December 16 after a previous negative test just three days earlier.
She returned to the medical center in San Diego where she was working the day after receiving the negative test result on December 13.
Wilkinson had previously volunteered in several states, including New York and Texas, over the last year to bolster capacity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The same week, she was tested again for coronavirus — and this time, the test result was positive. Wilkinson also received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination the same day.
On Monday, December 28, the “Dancing Nurse” took to Instagram to encourage people to wear masks and shared with her followers that she had been ill with coronavirus for the past few days.
Wilkinson reminded people in her post that healthcare workers get sick and cannot look after other people’s families if they themselves are not well enough to work.
In a bid to urge others to wear a face covering, Wilkinson also said that she and her colleagues working in healthcare are becoming “frustrated” and “tired” and only want people to do one thing — wear a mask.
She concluded her Instagram post by using the hashtag #PleaseWearAMask.
Wilkinson said she does not know how she contracted coronavirus but that it “doesn’t matter.” Her husband works as a firefighter but had taken a PCR test, which came back negative.
Yesterday, Wilkinson posted again on Instagram — this time, sharing a message of support concerning the mental health aspects of coronavirus.
She wrote: “I was told by a nurse friend, who also had COVID, watch for the mental psyche kicks in and to be aware of it. I thought about this for a long while. The cost of loneliness, the seclusion, the strain on your friendships, and so much more. The questions in my head: What will be my long term effects? Will I be able to work out? Can I spiral down again? Will my kid’s friends hang out with my kids? Will their friends isolate my kids? Will my kids blame me? So many things are running in my head. My family is everything to me but my kids. It’s HEAVY. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
She went on to say: “I was worried so much about my symptoms, but the mental part of it is real. My advice is to find your person to talk to. Have a support system. You need an outlet. If your journal, do it. If you look at social media, just be careful. It might send you in a spiral. But most importantly, be kind to yourself.”
She encouraged her 31,000+ followers to find a “support system” to help them through it.
