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North Suburban Nurse Shamed, But Then Honored, After Attending Virtual School Board Meeting In Bed

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A north suburban school board member logged onto a video meeting recently – never expecting criticism over where she was when she turned on her camera.

It ultimately brought her to tears. But as CBS 2's Steven Graves reported Thursday night, what happened next brought a debt of gratitude.

For wife and mom of two Rebecca Abraham, the new normal involves virtual meetings of the board of Niles Township High Schools District 219 – of which she is a member.

Her bedroom was a perfect spot for the meeting last week. Abraham can be alone, sometimes.

"You can see my daughter come in and try to snuggle me," she said.

But a parent who watched the meeting did not think it was a great idea.

"The lack of professionalism is stunning," a recent public Facebook post said – adding that Abraham disrespected students.

"I am not a crier and I cried!" Abraham said. "I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I was like, maybe she forgot I'm a nurse."

Abraham is also an ICU nurse, and had just finished picking up an eight-hour shift amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"I was feeling tired and very nauseous," she said.

Concerned over COVID-19 exposure and spreading it to family, Abraham video chatted in her bedroom.

At first, following the critical comments, Abraham was worried that the community would think she didn't take her job seriously enough.

But she logged in to see multiple comments with more love than hate.

"It was so awesome to see!" Abraham said.

One person wrote #NotAllHeroesWearCapes, and another criticized the parent who complained, saying, "You are shaming a nurse and a front-line worker."

"There are no words to describe how grateful I am," she said. "We're trying our best and it's nice to be recognized."

Now, an apology has been issued from the parent who criticized Abraham, saying she's learned a lesson. So has Abraham herself – in the power of kind words for a push to move forward.

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