ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It was March 1, 2020 when Florida reported its first coronavirus case. Now, one year later, close to 2 million cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Florida. 

While the vaccine has given many hope that an end to the fight against COVID-19 is in sight, it’s been a challenging year for many. One of the many women in healthcare in central Florida putting in countless additional hours at hospitals is Dr. Patricia Couto at Orlando Health. She has spent the last year working to get patients through this pandemic. 

“I can’t believe it’s been a year or close to a year,” Couto said.

The infectious diseases physician at Orlando Health Medical Group Infectious Disease has been involved with developing system-wide treatment guidelines and testing for COVID-19 during the pandemic. Dr. Couto has also helped manage care for patients at Orlando Health's ORMC and Dr. P. Phillips Hospital along with the health care system. 

For the past 12 months, Couto has worked on the frontlines fighting coronavirus. Working at Dr. Phillips hospital when they got their first COVID-19 patient is a day she remembers well. 

“There was a lot of fear in the staff, patients were very scared,” Couto said. 

A pandemic, something Couto had trained for, but never hoped to see. 

“I think this is both the dream and the nightmare of the infectious diseases doctor, because you always expect you’ll be able to be very useful…but you dread it because it’s something that’s so bad when it hits,” Couto said. 

And immediately, staff stepped up. 

“Nobody asked us, but we all did," Couto said. "It was hard sometimes to even pull away from the hospital because you had the patients in your mind, you have the families in your mind, you have the staff in your mind."

For 12 months now, she and others have traded in precious family time to stay at work, saving lives. 

“It was a lot of hours, little sleep but you just wanted to be there and be able to help,” Couto said. 

First, balancing the unknown with fighting this virus. And then later, with thousands of cases coming in daily, this past year, the pandemic has pushed our country's healthcare system to its limits. 

Since the pandemic began, the coronavirus has killed more than 30,000 Florida residents.  Nationwide, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 Americans.  Millions of more people have been infected. 

“Seeing patients that sick has been a humbling experience,” Couto said.

For every dark day and dark moment brought on by this pandemic, the small victories stand out.

“When you see someone getting so sick and then, is able to walk away and walk home with their loved ones. It’s what really keeps us going,” Couto said. 

And the resilience shown from both patients beating COVID-19 and the tireless staff of doctors and nurses willing to come back every day through this bleak year fills Couto with pride. 

“I have been incredibly impressed by the response of the people, the nursing staff just really blew me away," Couto said. "They were there. They were ready."

Now, with the promise of three vaccines to protect people from COVID-19, there’s hope spreading.  For Couto, the immuno-response building in her following her vaccination for COVID-19 feels like a talisman. 

“It was a very important moment, being able to receive potentially, almost like a superpower,” Couto said. 

That superpower-like feeling is rejuvenating Couto and other healthcare heroes from this long, dark year, invigorating her to keep fighting COVID-19 and hopeful they can finally beat this pandemic down. 

“We can do this,” she said, nodding. 

Doctors are stressing that even with the vaccine becoming more widely available, COVID-19 is not gone. It is still important, medical experts say, to continue to wear masks, social distance and wash hands to prevent the spread of coronavirus.