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The beeping was constant.听

In the chaos of rushing between ICU patients and making critical decisions on the spot, calls flooded Marco Uribe鈥檚 (Soc鈥�12) pager.听

People desperate for an update on their mother, father, spouse. Needing to know 鈥� unable to see or speak to them 鈥� their conditions.听

Marco had to explain on the phone to families that their loved one was dying from the COVID-19 virus, sometimes being forced to ask if their ventilator could go to someone else with a higher probability of surviving.

One shift, he became overwhelmed. He slipped into an empty room in the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, to call the person he needed to speak to most 鈥� his wife, Whitney Lewis Uribe (闯辞耻谤鈥�12).听

鈥淚 remember him calling me completely shaken, asking, 鈥楬ow do I even ask a family to answer this question?鈥欌赌� Whitney said.听

Marco added, 鈥淢any nights I stay up thinking about those conversations with families.鈥澨�

It was March 2020 and Marco was three months away from completing his first year of residency through the CU School of Medicine鈥檚 advanced anesthesiology program. The residency includes three years of specialized training after completing an intern year. CU assigned Marco to a hospital system in the Bronx for his intern year, which began in June 2019.听

鈥淣ew York was definitely a surprise for us,鈥� said Whitney.听

But as the pandemic ripped through the city, the couple realized they were exactly where they were supposed to be. New York was an experience to learn, grow and lean on each other 鈥� just as they had for the past 12 years.

Hallett Hall听

Marco and Whitney met in August 2008 during freshman move-in day at CU Boulder. Marco was coming from Austin, Texas, to start a pre-med track, and Whitney from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to study journalism. They were on the same floor in Hallett Hall.听

鈥淲e both caught each other鈥檚 eye,鈥� said Whitney.听

When Marco鈥檚 mom and sister, Marisa, came to visit for Homecoming, he solicited Marisa to invite Whitney to join them at a family tailgate 鈥� and 13-year-old Marisa was very insistent.

鈥淭he litmus was how Whitney interacted with my little sister, who had special needs,鈥� Marco said. 鈥淲hen I saw that she treated Marisa with love and respect, I knew she had a big heart.鈥澨�

As their relationship developed, Whitney learned how special Marisa was and how much she meant to Marco. Doctors diagnosed her with brain cancer as an infant, and the chemotherapy and radiation she underwent until age 5 stunted her neurological development and altered her hormonal balance.听

鈥淪he had an extra big capacity to love everyone around her,鈥� said Whitney.

鈥淪he was my reason to go into medicine,鈥� Marco said.听

Med School

After graduating from CU in 2012, Marco applied to medical schools while he skied, fly-fished and waited tables in Colorado. Whitney moved to Los Angeles to work for an entertainment production company. They dated long-distance.听

In 2013, Marco was accepted to medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. After a year and a half, Whitney joined him in Texas to work in the nonprofit sector. They were engaged near the Flatirons during a trip to Boulder in 2015, which is where they had their first date.听

In Marco鈥檚 second year of medical school, Marisa was diagnosed with colon cancer. The couple put their lives on hold to spend time with her. She died in September 2016 at 21 years old.听

鈥淲e leaned on each other a lot during that time,鈥� said Whitney. 鈥淲e grew closer.鈥澨�

Focusing on his studies was 鈥渁 serious challenge鈥� during that period, Marco said, but after some time off and Whitney鈥檚 support, he continued with medical school.听

Marco and Whitney married in July 2017 in Steamboat Springs. Two years later, Marco graduated and pursued residency options. CU鈥檚 advanced anesthesiology program at the Anschutz campus was his top choice.听

鈥淎nesthesia really came to me,鈥� said Marco. 鈥淲hen Marisa was really sick, an anesthesiologist gave her an epidural catheter which greatly helped in managing her pain so we could spend quality time together. It gave me some of the most cherished time with my sister.鈥�

After Marco was accepted into CU and subsequently assigned to New York, the couple 鈥� both 29 years old at the time 鈥� rented a 500-square-foot apartment in Manhattan and moved in with their 65-pound wirehaired griffon, Rooster.听

Whitney volunteered for a childhood cancer research organization and trained to get her certification in Pilates. Marco worked in the general surgery department at a hospital system in the Bronx, where many units were understaffed and overwhelmed before the pandemic.

鈥淚t was sink-or-swim kind of training,鈥� Marco said.听

The COVID Tidal Wave听

Marco first heard of COVID-19 in December.听

鈥淚t was something we knew was out there but hadn鈥檛 been completely studied. There didn鈥檛 seem to be anything concrete,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n January it became more of a discussion.鈥澨�

In February things seemed different.听

鈥淚鈥檇 go to the emergency department and ask colleagues, 鈥榃hat do you think of this COVID thing? Are we prepared?鈥欌赌� Marco recalled. 鈥淭hey said it鈥檚 coming and it鈥檚 going to hit us like a tidal wave.鈥�

Marco prepared to dive in.听

鈥淚 remember the day when he came home and he said this is going to be really hard and a lot of people are going to die,鈥� Whitney said. 鈥淚 stopped watching the news. I needed to match his fearless energy because he was now going to be seeing this firsthand.鈥澨�

Marco volunteered to work in his hospital鈥檚 ICU doing critical care for COVID-19 patients. He started work at 5:30 a.m. and sometimes wouldn鈥檛 return home until 9 p.m. or later. Whitney remembers giving him protein shakes often as he was too exhausted to eat.听

鈥淓ight hours of sleep minus the commute time wasn鈥檛 a lot, but it was worth going home,鈥� Marco said. 鈥淚 would change out of scrubs in the hallway, take my shoes off, put those scrubs in a bag, go straight to the laundry and take a shower.鈥�

By the end of March, the entire hospital and every ICU floor was overflowing, and ventilators were running sparse. While attending physicians frantically tried to obtain supplies, staff and space for dying patients, the residents helped run the ICUs.听

鈥淚 quickly learned how to serve my patients as a critical care physician,鈥� Marco said.听

Whitney helped him create talking points for difficult conversations with families.

Despite it all, Marco knew he was where he was supposed to be.

鈥淭his is why we go into medicine,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is our call.鈥澨�

In mid-April, Marco 鈥� wearing a CU Boulder lanyard 鈥� was featured on CBS News wheeling a recovered patient out of the hospital to his family.听

鈥淚 would have wanted to be in the fight whether or not I was in New York,鈥� Marco said. 鈥淭he fact that I was there by luck 鈥� I thank God for the experience.鈥澨�

Return to Colorado

At the end of June, the couple moved from New York to a historic house in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver.听

鈥淓very time we move to a new city it feels like a new chapter,鈥� Whitney said. 鈥淲e trust what is in store for us, good or bad.鈥�

Whitney sought out an advertising position and is continuing her volunteer work in childhood cancer research. In July, Marco began the second year of his residency at CU's medical campus, focused once again on anesthesiology.听

But, he added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited for whatever could come next.鈥澨�

听

Photos by Matt Tyrie; Courtesy CBS News (bottom)