The 39-year-old cardiologist grabs 15 minutes of sleep whenever he can grab it. He's separated from his family, including his six-month old son, only able to connect via FaceTime calls between shifts at his New York City hospital. He's not willing to put his loved ones at risk from the exposure he faces every day as he treats COVID-19 patients. But Dr. Hadi Halazan returns to the frontlines nearly every day, determined to see the crisis through. Through audio journals provided to ABC News, Dr. Halazan movingly remembers his first patient who died from coronavirus, expresses concern for his colleagues and talks about the toll of not seeing his family. But hear in his own words how he also finds inspiration and hope pouring from a community that supports the essential workers. "The Essentials: Inside the Curve" is a special series from ABC Audio, makers of the daily ABC News podcast "Start Here," the chart-topping series "The Dropout," and more: http://www.abcaudio.com/podcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices