LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After three weeks in the hospital battling COVID-19, a physician assistant has been discharged from Baptist Health Lexington.

According to the hospital, 50 year-old Sheila Thornsberry was admitted on April 2.

Thornsberry is mother of two and a physician assistant who's spent her career caring for others.

But until Friday, Thornsberry was, herself, the patient cared for by staff members at Baptist Health.

“They did their absolute best. I couldn’t have asked for better care,” said Thornsberry.

Staff members in the ICU helped her stay connected to her family through Facetime.

Dr. Yuri Villaran is an intensivist who works with critically ill patients. Dr. Villaran was one of the many team members that helped treat Thornsberry successfully.

“This success is due not only to constant work from everyone in the ICU, but from Gov. Beshear and his team flattening the curve so our hospitals won’t be over capacity,” Villaran said. “Our hospital leaders, president Bill Sisson and chief operating officer/chief nursing officer Karen Hill and their team, make sure that we are prepared, that we are as safe as possible, so we can be at the bedside providing all of the care that each patient needs.”

Now able to go home, Thornsberry reflected on the impact of the virus and hopes that others continue to take the threat seriously.

“People need to be diligent and to remember the seriousness of this disease,” she said. “I understand that staying safe at home might be a sacrifice, that being out of work is a sacrifice; but it is for the good of your family and the community.”

As she left the hospital to cheers from the ICU staff, the song played was Rachel Platten's "Stand By You."