Vaccinated Peabody Nurse Headed To Super Bowl On Patriots' Plane

PEABODY, MA — For nearly a year, Peabody resident Jen Medina has fought through the "emotionally draining" toll of illness, pain and sometimes death the coronavirus has inflicted on the region as a registered nurse in the Medical 5 COVID-19 unit at MelroseWakefield Hospital.

In recent weeks, Medina said she's enjoyed a measure of "reassurance" and "relief" after receiving the second shot of the coronavirus vaccine.

On Sunday, Medina and 75 of her fellow fully vaccinated health care workers from across New England will board the Patriots' airplane and head to Tampa, Fla. where she told Patch she will be rooting on former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the Super Bowl as one of 7,500 invited health care workers inside the stadium.

"I was in complete shock," said Medina, who found out she was one of the lucky 76 during a Zoom call on Saturday. "I didn't even know this contest was going on. It was a wonderful surprise. It has now become more surreal that I am actually going to the game."

Patriots owner Robert Kraft used the same plane to bring 1.2 million respirator masks from China to New England when there were severe shortages during the onset of the pandemic in April.

Now the plane that was used to help save the lives of health care workers across the region is being used to celebrate them in a small symbol of gratitude for their dedication and perseverance during the past 11 months.

"I just want to thank the Kraft family for doing this," Medina said. "It's going to be an amazing experience. I am glad health care workers are being recognized for all their hard work throughout this."

Medina will travel to Gillette Stadium Sunday morning and then board one of the Patriots' buses for Logan Airport where the team plane will be waiting.

"Which is pretty cool because we're really thankful for those (masks)," she said.

There will be a day of Super Bowl-related events leading up to the big game between Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Medina said she will be wearing a Patriots shirt in Raymond James Stadium, but that she will be rooting for former Patriots Rob Gronkowski, Brady and the Bucs to win it all.

"All the Brady and Gronk shirts went to my kids," she said.

She told Patch that having immunosuppressed family members has added to the challenges she has experienced, along with all frontline health care workers, since the start of the pandemic.

"It's been emotionally draining," she said. "At the beginning, when we got hit, you were going through the motions (of your training), and just doing everything you can to get people better, if you could.

"Then in the summer, when there was a little bit of a lull, we were still there and people were still really sick. Now in this second round, people are younger and sicker. It takes a toll on you, along with everybody you work with.

"I am glad I have a wonderful team to work with (at MelroseWakefield Hospital) or I probably wouldn't have made it."

Medina said the vaccines provide "a glimmer of hope" to health care workers that allows them to go to work each day with more reassurance that they are safe and that the amount of very sick people they help will eventually diminish.

"It's kind of a relief," she said of taking the vaccine. "It's sort of our duty to do it now that we know it's safe to do it."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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