PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The receiving the coronavirus vaccine is about more than being protected for Glenna Swan. It’s a relief.

“It’s the start of the process to get this ridiculous virus to go away,” she said.

As a nurse at Hasbro Children’s Hospital’s Tomorrow Fund Clinic, she qualified for Phase 1A of Rhode Island’s vaccination distribution plan.

She happily received her first dose Monday night.

“The whole room was just full of energy, full of happiness,” she recalled.

Swann knows the pain of losing someone to COVID-19. She tells 12 News she helped care for her stepdad, Artie, until he passed away from the virus back in April.

Thirteen days later, her mother, Joan, also lost her battle with COVID-19 — just one week shy of her 71st birthday.

“She just was a generous, caring, loving sister, aunt, cousin, daughter, mother,” Swann said.

Joan was also a nurse and had cared for patients at Kent Hospital for nearly 50 years. It was the same hospital where she spent 25 days fighting for her life.

“I only saw her the day before she passed and I was allowed to go to say my goodbyes, but I had to stay outside of her room and it was a very brief 10-minute visit,” she said.

Swann said she’s seen the posts online of other healthcare workers receiving the vaccine. She understands its importance all too well, and made sure her mom was with her in some form when she received her first dose.

“I had her obituary card with me in my pocket and it just feels like the first step that I can take towards a little bit of closure,” she said.

Swann received Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, which requires a second dose. She said she’s already scheduled her follow-up appointment and will receive her second dose on Jan. 11.