'Rooting for you': Steph Curry surprises Oakland nurse on FaceTime

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry smiles on the bench as players warm up before an NBA basketball game between the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) less Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry smiles on the bench as players warm up before an NBA basketball game between the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP ... more Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close 'Rooting for you': Steph Curry surprises Oakland nurse on FaceTime 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

A group of front-line health care workers at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland recently got a surprise pick-me-up in the form of a FaceTime call from Warriors star Stephen Curry.

Alta Bates intensive care nurse Shelby Delaney, 27, was one of the first nurses to volunteer to assist potential coronavirus patients, and the job has been a draining one. "On Monday morning as I was getting ready for work, I found myself feeling powerless and defeated," she wrote on Facebook last week. "It was in that moment that I knew I needed to summon my inner warrior. So I threw on my Steph jersey under my scrubs."

Curry learned about Delaney from the Mercury News and from there, the Warriors paired up Delaney — whose first date with her now-husband was at a Warriors game —and Curry for a quick call before her evening shift at the hospital. Delaney invited her shift partners to partake as well.

"I can't thank God enough for what you’re doing and just the sacrifice, the selflessness and the way everybody’s coming together," Curry said on the call. "Thank you so much for just what you do, your heart and the inspiration you provide for everybody."

Delaney offered thanks in return, telling the Warriors star that his positivity and drive helped keep her motivated, especially in her first years on the job.

"It's a really steep learning curve, you've got two people you're trying to make sure they don't die all shift, and I just had a lot of tough stuff going on with family," Delaney told Curry. "There's a lot of times I did want to quit and give up and do something easier. And that's kind of when I started wearing the jersey, it was my way of gathering my strength, reminding myself that I got this."

When Delaney asked Curry how he keeps such a positive outlook, he admitted it was something he was working on now with his daughters, Riley and Ryan.

"I literally just told my seven and four-year-old this morning, I made a little poster," he said. "I made up this term I didn't even know 12 hours ago: Control your WABA. Your attitude, your behavior, your words and your action. If those four things make sense for a seven and a four-year-old, that makes sense for me in terms of those days when you wake up and you don't got it."

After about five minutes, Curry signed off by waving goodbye to the room full of heath care workers and giving them one more thank you.

"I know you guys have very important work to do,” he said. “We have so many people praying for you, rooting for you and I know as things continue to go, hopefully everybody will take a personal responsibility to try to end this thing."

Delaney posted video of the call on Facebook, thanking Curry for "spreading your joy and boosting our morale."

"Yesterday was one of the coolest moments of my life; I was able to meet my hero, Stephen Curry," Delaney wrote. "He thanked me and my colleagues for all our hard work on the frontlines during this pandemic. And I was finally able to thank him for all the inspiration and strength he’s given me over the years."