Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Kimmel certainly brought a little cheer into the day of a nurse who’s been furloughed temporarily after testing positive for the coronavirus — and a lot of support.
Kimmel spoke to the young mother, who’s having to endure quarantine as she processes through her symptoms isolated from friends and family, including her two young children. Kimball Fairbanks has two daughters, one four years old and one just 18 months.
When asked when she might be able to return to work, Kimball said she should be cleared on April 8. That’s the same day that she should finally be allowed to see and hold her children again, just in time to go back to work on the front lines in the battle against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just have to say god bless you and all of you that are out there doing what you’re doing,” Jennifer told Kimball. “I don’t even know how to express my gratitude to everything that you guys are doing and putting your health at risk and all that. You’re just phenomenal, phenomenal!”
Even those kind words felt like an understatement to both Jennifer and Jimmy, who echo most Americans in not being able to begin to express their gratitude and appreciation for the risks, sacrifices, valor and strength of these healthcare professionals as the number of cases and fatalities attributed to the virus continue to rise dramatically
But what they couldn’t say in words they could express through some relief. Kimball said that she has been mostly ordering out her meals, and so Jennifer and Jimmy hooked her up with $10,000 in gift certificates she can use through the service. Even better, ever nurse on her floor is getting a gift certificate as well.
It may seem like a small gesture, but it’s a huge burden lifted off of the shoulders of these men and women on the front line. One less thing to worry about can make all the difference as they are taxed to their physical, mental and emotional limits.
Through it all, Kimball has shown a remarkable resiliency and positive attitude. Despite saying her own symptoms felt like she’d been hit by a truck, Kimball said it felt like a head cold (she did sound stuffy) and that it felt manageable, for which she was grateful.
And when Jennifer asked how she was feeling today, in particular, Kimball replied, “Today feels better. I woke up and decided today I’m not going to be sick any longer. So I’m feeling better.” The power of positive thinking at work right there!
Also in that video with Kimball, Jennifer offered to send her an incredible painting. She told Kimball it’s a long story, but it’s one she told Jimmy in their earlier chat (presented in the following video). We don’t want to spoil a single bit of it because it actually made us laugh out loud, and you deserve that as well.
The incident with the painting may have been a minor mishap in Jennifer’s first three weeks of self-isolation at home, but she’s also made some remarkable discoveries. The “Morning Show” star said she’d gone a little crazy with cleaning and organizing, but those efforts bore surprise fruit.
“I found a couple treasures,” she told Jimmy. “One was a betamax and it was my first audition — I was 13 — for ‘Search for Tomorrow,’ which was a soap opera my dad was on back then. I’m dying to see it!” While she doesn’t have a betamax player, Jennifer intends to get it digitally transferred and promised to share it whenever she does.
As for the part, despite her dad working on the show, she didn’t get it. But she thinks she knows who did. “If I remember correctly, Jane Krakowski got the part,” she said. When she revealed that her dad didn’t want her to work on the show, she admitted she went behind his back through his agent.
That got Jimmy thinking maybe her dad maybe had something to do with her not getting that part. He also now desperately wants to know if Jane Krakowski has her audition for that same part. How amazing would it be to compare the two. ” I thought I did great, I was sure that I was gonna get it,” Jennifer said. After all, a 13-year old girl? That was totally her!
The second treasure she found was a reel-to-reel from early in her parents’ marriage from an appearance on “The Newlywed Game.” All this time, Jennifer had thought these priceless family treasures lost to time, but here they were boxed up with her things.
It’s perhaps only the slightest of silver linings to weeks of self-isolation, but there are benefits to slowing down and taking the time to look around and be fully present in your home and your lives. Maybe even continuing after the crisis has passed as possible.
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