 Hello again everyone and welcome to another edition of Yes, We're Here. I'm Jack Curry and across the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to interview players like Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettit, Jorge Posada, baseball players who throughout their careers have been called heroes. Well today we're joined by another hero, Tony McKay. He's a front line hero and I want to tell you about Tony's story. It doesn't appear on the back of a baseball card, but it should. He has been a paramedic in Staten Island in Brooklyn for more than 30 years. He has transported patients to the hospital during the pandemic and he learned that he had contracted the coronavirus. He spent three weeks in the hospital and was recently released. This is a story that I love to have the opportunity to tell. So Tony, how amazing does it feel to be home? It feels more amazing than I can ever express. I was really, really sick. The doctors at some point didn't think I would make it. They actually told my wife that they didn't think I would make it. And one doctor in particular, Dr. Jay Nefoyum, they were going to put me on a ventilator, but he wanted to give it a little time on the CPAP machine to see if I would start to come around and it was three rough days, but on the fourth day, I started to respond and they managed to keep me off the ventilator. And I spent 15 full days on the CPAP machine before they were able to wean me off to regular oxygen. Tony, for you to be sitting here right now and to have to utter those words that the doctor said to your wife, he might not make it. How blessed and how grateful are you that you have this opportunity to be home with your family and to know that you're one of the fortunate ones who beat this virus? I'm grateful beyond words. I'm grateful to every doctor, every nurse, every technician, and especially my coworkers who under great personal risk themselves suited up and took shifts spending time with me, helping me eat, encouraging me around the clock while I was in the hospital, although my wife couldn't come in. These guys all worked for the hospital, so they were allowed to come in and just be there for me. Well, you've saved lives in your career and obviously your co-workers and friends contributed to make sure that your life was saved and I think that's totally fitting and again, I'm so happy to be able to share this story. The reason I connected with you is I was watching NBC4 New York News and they rolled the video and the footage of you leaving the hospital, Richmond University Medical Center and there were dozens and dozens of people, your friends, your family, firefighters, there was bagpipes playing. As you are exiting that hospital, Tony, how much emotion is filling up in your body and your world when you see this display? I was overwhelmed but the most overwhelmed feeling was seeing my wife and kids for the first time in three weeks. You made it out, you give your wife a hug and again, I can't even put myself in your world but when you finally have that opportunity to embrace, how does that make you feel? It must be a feeling of safety and relief that you know you're on your way home. It was an overwhelming feeling. I broke down crying. My kids were crying, I was just overwhelmed and happy to be able to hug them after so long. Tony, part of the reason I contacted you and I would have told your story if you had any kind of cap on but as you exited the hospital, you're wearing a Yankee cap and we've talked offline and you've told me that you were a big Yankee fan. Where did your Yankee fandom begin? Funny story, I actually grew up in Queens and my uncle was the biggest MET fan and he tried and tried to make me a MET fan but one of my father's friends, his name was Joe Lane, they would always come over, barbecues and everything and he was a Yankee fan and I would always watch the games with him and then I just started listening on the radio when I was a kid. I would fall asleep with like a little transistor radio in my ear listening to Phil Rizzuto and Frank White and Bill Messa called the games when I was a kid and I just been a fan of the since. Do you have a greatest Yankee moment or greatest Yankee memory from your fandom? The 1996 World Series was very special because I had seen 77 and 78 but there was a long gap in that time. I was 10 and 11 years old when those went down and then it was a long gap and 96 was very special to me. Tony, you also had experience at working at Yankee Stadium. Can you fill us in on what you have done at Yankee Stadium in the past? So for three years, 2016, 17 and 18, the hospital I worked for in Brooklyn was subcontracted to provide the paramedics for Yankee Stadium so we took care of the people in the stadium and also the players if they needed and I had the opportunity to take care of some players but I can't say who because of privacy. I know you were doing your job in those instances but as such a big fan and you're getting to work at the stadium, have a peek at the field, interact with some of the players again in a professional manner, what did that mean for a Yankee fan? When I was taking care of players, you've been doing this 31 years, I'm core as a cucumber. I was like nervous that I was taking care of a Yankee player. You're wearing your pinstripes today so what pinstripe jersey, Yankee jersey, are you donning today? Aaron Judge, I just like the way he goes about his business, how he's a five-tool player. I actually followed him since he was in the minors and it's crazy some of the scouts didn't think he was a very good fielder when he was coming up and you see how great a fielder this guy is and you wonder what they were watching. So I kind of have a preference for homegrown guys. I like to see them succeed and you know stay Yankees for life. Tony, I know that this has been a trying and a frightening ordeal for you but your success story, there are thousands of people, thousands of families who are dealing with this right now and everyone's case is different. But if you had a message to pass on to those folks, a message of encouragement, a message about not giving up, what would you say to some of those folks who are struggling with coronavirus? Is this hope don't give up? This is for real. I never expected to get as sick as I did. A lot of us that do this job figured that we would probably get sick but we still kept going to work every day. But I didn't expect to get as sick as I am and I fought with the support of my family and my friends and co-workers and I'm here, I'm here now. Thank God. Tony, I watched a lot of news coverage of the coronavirus as we all have and I do have to tell you honestly the footage of you leaving the hospital and that reception is going to stay with me for a long time because we all want bright spots, we all want success stories during this dark time and what people did for you just lets me know how much you had done for so many people throughout your career. Yeah, it was overwhelming. You said that you noticed my Yankee cap before. One of the paramedics who was taking me home is my full-time partner and he's a Red Sox fan. I don't know if you noticed he was wearing a Red Sox cap behind. We have pretty good battles about the Yankees and Red Sox all in good fun. Well, I'm glad that those battles will be able to continue and I'm so happy that you and I connected and we've had the chance to talk and thank you for all that you have done for other folks and please rest, stay home, get yourself back to 100% and it was really a pleasure to interview you, Tony. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you very much.