Army reservist, son reunited after month-long deployment to NYC front lines

The nurse had to spend two weeks in quarantine before going home.

May 22, 2020, 8:49 PM

A mother and son are finally back to playing catch in their New Hampshire backyard after recently reuniting following her deployment to New York City to help fight on the front lines against COVID-19.

Army reservist Sandra Daoust of Concord reunited with her son, Seth, 9, on May 12.

Daoust, also a nurse, had traveled on March 28 with the 454th Medical Unit out of Portsmouth to New York City.

Seth, Sandra Daoust's son, is seen here with his best friend, Myles. His mother deployed for a month and a half on March 28. They reunited recently.
Courtesy Sandra Daoust

She first served at New York City's Javits Center and then headed to University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, where she worked with patients fighting the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 95,000 Americans.

When Daoust's mission ended, though, she couldn't return home immediately. She first had to go into quarantine for two weeks at Fort Dix in New Jersey to ensure that she was virus free. At the end of the quarantine, she tested negative and began her journey home.

Sandra Daoust, a nurse, served with the 454th Medical Unit out of Portsmouth, New Hamphire, to help on the front lines first at the Javits Center and then a hospital in New Jersey.
Courtesy Sandra Daoust

She shared the video of Seth running into her arms and the two sharing an emotional hug with Manchester ABC affiliate station WMUR .

"I'm glad to be home on this beautiful sunny day. It was a bittersweet experience because it was something that I signed up to do, but I'm really glad to be home with my son," she told ABC News about her deployment.

Sandra Daoust and her son, Seth, reunited after she was deployed for a month and a half to serve at New York City's Javits Center to help on the front lines against COVID-19.
Courtesy Sandra Daoust

Seth told ABC News that he was just happy to have his mother home.

"We can do a lot of fun stuff together, like we can cook together, we can do yard work together and I'm most happy that she's home safe and sound," he said Friday.

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