Coronavirus Tales : From Fiction to Reality
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https://www.wsmv.com/news/covid-19-...cle_01778be4-fee4-11eb-9a7b-5ba18399c5a2.html
Covid-19 patient talks from hospital bed
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A Nashville man has a change of heart regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and wears masks after spending the last 88 days inside Tri-Star Medical Center in Nashville.
Steve Sechler, 43, was admitted into the hospital on May 21st. Since then, he's suffered severe complications from the virus. Sechler spent time in a coma relying on a ventilator, leaving his limbs without the strength to walk.
"My main goal here is to make it, so people don't end up like me," Sechler said from inside of his hospital room via WebEx.
With nurses and doctors by his side during the interview with News 4, there were moments his breathing was difficult. Before his COVID-19 diagnosis, Sechler says he was in good health with no pre-existing conditions. But, crippled by complications of the virus, nurses say he's lost between 40 to 50 lbs.
"I can't walk. All of my muscles are weak. I have a hard time breathing," Sechler said.
Doctors say his lungs were the most damaged they'd ever seen. But, recently, Sechler has made significant improvement after doctors thought he'd never get off of the breathing machine.
"We never even expected him to get off ECMO, so not only did he get off ECMO which speaks to his will to live now he's just on oxygen not requiring a ventilator, so he has a tremendous will to live," Dr. Elliot Cohen, the hospital's ICU Medical Director said.
Sechler wanted to share his story and plea to the public to take this virus seriously so they can hopefully avoid the medical situation his facing right now.
"I know there's arguments all over the country about the vaccine and the mask, and I just want it to be none the cost-benefit is that the vaccine will help you. If you end up like me, you will regret it," Sechler said.
Doctors said Sechler would get a lung transplant, but right now, their main goal is to get home with oxygen.
Covid-19 patient talks from hospital bed
- DANIELLE JACKSON
- UPDATED 18 HRS AGO | POSTED ON AUG 16, 2021
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A Nashville man has a change of heart regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and wears masks after spending the last 88 days inside Tri-Star Medical Center in Nashville.
Steve Sechler, 43, was admitted into the hospital on May 21st. Since then, he's suffered severe complications from the virus. Sechler spent time in a coma relying on a ventilator, leaving his limbs without the strength to walk.
"My main goal here is to make it, so people don't end up like me," Sechler said from inside of his hospital room via WebEx.
With nurses and doctors by his side during the interview with News 4, there were moments his breathing was difficult. Before his COVID-19 diagnosis, Sechler says he was in good health with no pre-existing conditions. But, crippled by complications of the virus, nurses say he's lost between 40 to 50 lbs.
"I can't walk. All of my muscles are weak. I have a hard time breathing," Sechler said.
Doctors say his lungs were the most damaged they'd ever seen. But, recently, Sechler has made significant improvement after doctors thought he'd never get off of the breathing machine.
"We never even expected him to get off ECMO, so not only did he get off ECMO which speaks to his will to live now he's just on oxygen not requiring a ventilator, so he has a tremendous will to live," Dr. Elliot Cohen, the hospital's ICU Medical Director said.
Sechler wanted to share his story and plea to the public to take this virus seriously so they can hopefully avoid the medical situation his facing right now.
"I know there's arguments all over the country about the vaccine and the mask, and I just want it to be none the cost-benefit is that the vaccine will help you. If you end up like me, you will regret it," Sechler said.
Doctors said Sechler would get a lung transplant, but right now, their main goal is to get home with oxygen.
https://kfor.com/news/local/a-shot-...9-thinking-vaccine-was-government-conspiracy/
“A shot would have saved him,” Family grieves after father who called vaccine a government conspiracy dies of COVID-19
by: Kaitor Kay/KFOR
Posted: Aug 16, 2021 / 10:33 PM CDT / Updated: Aug 17, 2021 / 12:16 PM CDT
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Many Americans are still choosing to not get the COVID-19 Vaccine. It’s a decision that one former Oklahoman says recently cost her ex-husband and father of her three kids his life.
Born in Tipton, Michael Stevenson lived in Oklahoma City for decades with wife, Melinda Young, before his job took him to Florida a few years ago.
That’s where he died of COVID on August 3 – never getting the vaccine because he thought it was a government conspiracy.
“A shot would have saved him, a shot would have saved him,” Young lamented.
50-year-old Stevenson called the COVID vaccine a government conspiracy.
“A lot of people think the shot is how they were going to track people, the government tracks people or they’re trying to take too much control,” Young said.
She said Stevenson believed medical professionals were under government authority. He also believed the number of COVID deaths was inflated by the government and that many of those deaths claimed to be from the virus were by other causes.
Even after his own father died of COVID in April, he still didn’t get vaccinated.
Two months later, Stevenson was admitted into the hospital, now a victim of the virus himself.
“Within 48 hours of being admitted, he wished he would have got the shot because he was already that miserable,” Young shared. “His body was hurting. He couldn’t breathe. He wished he would have gotten it.”
His family was in anguish as he fought for his life on a ventilator.
“It was such ups and downs and so many hopeful moments that I can’t even explain — ” said Young, breaking off in tears. “I thought he was going to make it. We thought he was going to make it.”
A week-and-a-half after being admitted, doctors asked to pull Stevenson off the machines. Young granted the permission.
“It was the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.
Now, she’s pleading with the public to get the vaccine.
“Don’t do it for you,” she said. “Because it’s the people that love you that you need to research, do your homework, to see why you need that shot.”
She believes saving lives can be Stevenson’s legacy.
“We promised he would not die in vain,” she said. “No one that we can touch will go through what we went through because no one deserves it.”
After Stevenson’s death on August 3, one of his sons who was also choosing to not get vaccinated, finally went and got the shot.
“A shot would have saved him,” Family grieves after father who called vaccine a government conspiracy dies of COVID-19
by: Kaitor Kay/KFOR
Posted: Aug 16, 2021 / 10:33 PM CDT / Updated: Aug 17, 2021 / 12:16 PM CDT
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Many Americans are still choosing to not get the COVID-19 Vaccine. It’s a decision that one former Oklahoman says recently cost her ex-husband and father of her three kids his life.
Born in Tipton, Michael Stevenson lived in Oklahoma City for decades with wife, Melinda Young, before his job took him to Florida a few years ago.
That’s where he died of COVID on August 3 – never getting the vaccine because he thought it was a government conspiracy.
“A shot would have saved him, a shot would have saved him,” Young lamented.
50-year-old Stevenson called the COVID vaccine a government conspiracy.
“A lot of people think the shot is how they were going to track people, the government tracks people or they’re trying to take too much control,” Young said.
She said Stevenson believed medical professionals were under government authority. He also believed the number of COVID deaths was inflated by the government and that many of those deaths claimed to be from the virus were by other causes.
Even after his own father died of COVID in April, he still didn’t get vaccinated.
Two months later, Stevenson was admitted into the hospital, now a victim of the virus himself.
“Within 48 hours of being admitted, he wished he would have got the shot because he was already that miserable,” Young shared. “His body was hurting. He couldn’t breathe. He wished he would have gotten it.”
His family was in anguish as he fought for his life on a ventilator.
“It was such ups and downs and so many hopeful moments that I can’t even explain — ” said Young, breaking off in tears. “I thought he was going to make it. We thought he was going to make it.”
A week-and-a-half after being admitted, doctors asked to pull Stevenson off the machines. Young granted the permission.
“It was the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.
Now, she’s pleading with the public to get the vaccine.
“Don’t do it for you,” she said. “Because it’s the people that love you that you need to research, do your homework, to see why you need that shot.”
She believes saving lives can be Stevenson’s legacy.
“We promised he would not die in vain,” she said. “No one that we can touch will go through what we went through because no one deserves it.”
After Stevenson’s death on August 3, one of his sons who was also choosing to not get vaccinated, finally went and got the shot.
A mom of 4 who died of covid days after her husband makes one final wish: ‘Make sure my kids get vaccinated’
A few weeks ago, Lydia Rodriguez thought her body was strong enough to fight the coronavirus without the vaccine.
But after a week-long church camp, she and other members of her family tested positive for the coronavirus. By the time Rodriguez, 42, changed her mind and asked for the shot, it was too late, her doctor said. A ventilator awaited her, her cousin Dottie Jones told The Washington Post.
Out of options, the Galveston, Tex., mother of four, asked her family to make a promise: “Please make sure my kids get vaccinated,” Rodriguez, a piano teacher, told her sister during their last phone call.
Rodriguez died Monday — two weeks after her husband, Lawrence Rodriguez, 49, also died after coronavirus complications. The couple fought the virus from hospital beds just a few feet from one another in a Texas intensive care unit, Jones said.
Lydia and Lawrence Rodriguez, who were married for 21 years, were among the tens of millions of Americans who have not yet received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, which is available free to anyone over age 12. Health officials have stressed that the vaccine significantly lowers one’s chance of becoming severely ill or dying of the virus. The now-orphaned children of the Rodriguez family join the millions tragically affected by the sometimes deadly illness.
The case of the Rodriguez family echoes that of other unvaccinated patients who have begged their doctors for vaccine doses before being intubated.
‘I should have gotten the damn vaccine,’ woman says fiance texted before he died of covid-19
“Lydia has never really believed in vaccines,” Jones, 55, told The Post. “She believed that she could handle everything on her own, that you didn’t really need medicine.”
A neonatal nurse, Jones was familiar with the serious effects covid-19 had on mothers and babies she treated at the Sugar Land, Tex., hospital where she worked. She shared with Rodriguez how she had watched patient after patient be connected to a ventilator for weeks without much improvement.
Jones could have gone on and on. But her cousin’s silence spoke for itself, she said.
“I knew she would never get vaccinated,” Jones told The Post. “I was very concerned.”
Rodriguez’s husband, who shared her anti-vaccine beliefs, also declined to get the shot. Three of their four children are eligible but have not yet received the vaccine, Jones said.
In early July, days after Rodriguez and the children returned from a Christian church camp, Jones’s worst fears became true. One by one, each member of the family — including Rodriguez’s husband, who did not attend camp because of work — tested positive for the coronavirus.
The family didn’t tell anyone they were sick until Rodriguez’s husband drove her to the hospital on July 12 after she began experiencing shortness of breath. Rodriguez was admitted to the ICU, and her husband was admitted to another ward, Jones said.
By then, the rest of the family stepped in to bring groceries and medicine to the couple’s four children, who were all infected and quarantining at home. The youngest child was the only one to experience mild symptoms, Jones said. The rest were asymptomatic.
At one point, Lawrence Rodriguez’s condition appeared to be improving, but a couple of days after he was admitted, he was rushed to the ICU. He requested a coronavirus vaccine shortly before being put on a ventilator, Jones said, but it was also too late for him. He died Aug. 2.
By then, Lydia Rodriguez was fully dependent on an oxygen mask that prevented her from talking to her children, who called to check in and sing Christian hymns to lift her spirits.
“We are praying for you and taking care of the kids,” Jones recounted telling her cousin during her last days. Hospital staff called the family on Aug. 16 to report that Rodriguez had died.
The family has relayed her last wishes about the vaccine to the couple’s 18-year-old twins, Jones said. The plan is to schedule an appointment for the 11-year-old daughter as soon as she qualifies, and the couple’s 16-year-old son is expected to get the shot soon.
The family has created an online fundraiser to help the Rodriguez children while the courts figure out who will become the guardian of the minors.
Wednesday is expected to be a difficult day for the four siblings, Jones said. Their mom would have turned 43.
A few weeks ago, Lydia Rodriguez thought her body was strong enough to fight the coronavirus without the vaccine.
But after a week-long church camp, she and other members of her family tested positive for the coronavirus. By the time Rodriguez, 42, changed her mind and asked for the shot, it was too late, her doctor said. A ventilator awaited her, her cousin Dottie Jones told The Washington Post.
Out of options, the Galveston, Tex., mother of four, asked her family to make a promise: “Please make sure my kids get vaccinated,” Rodriguez, a piano teacher, told her sister during their last phone call.
Rodriguez died Monday — two weeks after her husband, Lawrence Rodriguez, 49, also died after coronavirus complications. The couple fought the virus from hospital beds just a few feet from one another in a Texas intensive care unit, Jones said.
Lydia and Lawrence Rodriguez, who were married for 21 years, were among the tens of millions of Americans who have not yet received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, which is available free to anyone over age 12. Health officials have stressed that the vaccine significantly lowers one’s chance of becoming severely ill or dying of the virus. The now-orphaned children of the Rodriguez family join the millions tragically affected by the sometimes deadly illness.
The case of the Rodriguez family echoes that of other unvaccinated patients who have begged their doctors for vaccine doses before being intubated.
‘I should have gotten the damn vaccine,’ woman says fiance texted before he died of covid-19
“Lydia has never really believed in vaccines,” Jones, 55, told The Post. “She believed that she could handle everything on her own, that you didn’t really need medicine.”
A neonatal nurse, Jones was familiar with the serious effects covid-19 had on mothers and babies she treated at the Sugar Land, Tex., hospital where she worked. She shared with Rodriguez how she had watched patient after patient be connected to a ventilator for weeks without much improvement.
Jones could have gone on and on. But her cousin’s silence spoke for itself, she said.
“I knew she would never get vaccinated,” Jones told The Post. “I was very concerned.”
Rodriguez’s husband, who shared her anti-vaccine beliefs, also declined to get the shot. Three of their four children are eligible but have not yet received the vaccine, Jones said.
In early July, days after Rodriguez and the children returned from a Christian church camp, Jones’s worst fears became true. One by one, each member of the family — including Rodriguez’s husband, who did not attend camp because of work — tested positive for the coronavirus.
The family didn’t tell anyone they were sick until Rodriguez’s husband drove her to the hospital on July 12 after she began experiencing shortness of breath. Rodriguez was admitted to the ICU, and her husband was admitted to another ward, Jones said.
By then, the rest of the family stepped in to bring groceries and medicine to the couple’s four children, who were all infected and quarantining at home. The youngest child was the only one to experience mild symptoms, Jones said. The rest were asymptomatic.
At one point, Lawrence Rodriguez’s condition appeared to be improving, but a couple of days after he was admitted, he was rushed to the ICU. He requested a coronavirus vaccine shortly before being put on a ventilator, Jones said, but it was also too late for him. He died Aug. 2.
By then, Lydia Rodriguez was fully dependent on an oxygen mask that prevented her from talking to her children, who called to check in and sing Christian hymns to lift her spirits.
“We are praying for you and taking care of the kids,” Jones recounted telling her cousin during her last days. Hospital staff called the family on Aug. 16 to report that Rodriguez had died.
The family has relayed her last wishes about the vaccine to the couple’s 18-year-old twins, Jones said. The plan is to schedule an appointment for the 11-year-old daughter as soon as she qualifies, and the couple’s 16-year-old son is expected to get the shot soon.
The family has created an online fundraiser to help the Rodriguez children while the courts figure out who will become the guardian of the minors.
Wednesday is expected to be a difficult day for the four siblings, Jones said. Their mom would have turned 43.
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article253183023.html
Unvaccinated Texas mom and dad on ventilators beg their 4 kids to get COVID shots
BY MITCHELL WILLETTS
AUGUST 01, 2021 03:49 PM
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Lydia and Lawrence Rodriguez of La Marque, Texas, are hospitalized in serious condition with COVID-19. They were unvaccinated, and before being put on ventilators, asked that their children receive COVID-19 vaccines. SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK POST BY DOTTIE JONES.
It’s likely too late for Lydia Rodriguez to get vaccinated - she and her husband, Lawrence, are breathing with the help of machines in a Texas intensive care unit - but their four children, she hopes, will get the shots.
“One of the last things she said before being intubated was to make sure her kids get vaccinated,” Rodriguez’ cousin Dottie Jones said in a Facebook post.
Lydia and Lawrence Rodriguez, of La Marque, were admitted to a hospital three weeks ago, ill with COVID-19, KTRK reported. Despite constant medical care, the virus has continued ravaging their bodies.
“We’ve been told they are very, very, very, very sick is what the doctor told us,” Jones told the TV station. “And if they do survive, it’s going to be a long, long road.”
Jones is asking for prayers, words of encouragement, any and all help that friends can spare for her cousin and family. She’s taken in their kids for the time being, Jones said, and on top of the emotional toll, the household and medical bills are “becoming overwhelming.”
But this all could have been avoided, Jones said.
“My 42 yo cousin didn’t believe in the vaccine. Now she and her husband are in the ICU on vents fighting for their lives with this delta variant while their 4 children are at home,” Jones said on Facebook.
“The vaccine works and this delta variant is brutal. You don’t want to end up like them I promise.”
As contagious as chicken pox, the delta variant is rapidly spreading across the United States, spurring a significant increase in cases in recent weeks, McClatchy News reported. In late July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the delta variant accounted for 83 percent of those cases.
While there are breakthrough cases, cases of vaccinated people catching coronavirus, these are rare, and experts say the COVID vaccines remain highly effective, McClatchy reported.
“I just am tired of the anti-vax rhetoric that is causing so many, like my cousin and her family, to not get vaccinated,” Jones told KTRK.
She hopes others will learn from her family and avoid becoming a cautionary tale themselves.
“Our hearts are just broken,” Jones said. “We hurt for the kids. We hurt for (their parents) and we just want them better and home.”
By Taryn Asher and David Komer online producer
Published May 21
Updated May 22
Coronavirus Vaccine
FOX 2 Detroit
LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Lincoln Park family is grieving the loss of a father of five from COVID-19. He and his wife refused the vaccine, now she is sharing the story to convince others to get it.
"He said he never wanted his children to go through what he went through in life - he wanted his kids to have the best of everything," said his wife, Hollie Rivers.
Beloved Lincoln Park father of five dies from COVID-19
A Lincoln Park family is grieving the loss of a father of five from COVID-19. He and his wife refused the vaccine, now she is sharing the story to convince others to get it.
Antwone Rivers was a doting father of five who had it tough growing up in foster care, facing years of abuse and neglect. His wife Hollie says he overcame his obstacles - becoming a success in school and in his career., earning the position of manager at Precision Vehicle Logistics in Wayne.
"He went to work every day even on the weekends, on vacations he worked," she said.
Which is why everyone was shocked when he called in sick in April. That was when Antwone and Hollie learned they tested positive for COVID-19.
"I know that it was like a week into us having Covid he started feeling worse and I started feeling better," she said.
The 39-year-old, who had no underlying conditions felt so sick, Hollie rushed him to the hospital. That would be the last conversation she would have with the love of her life.
Doctors eventually put Antwon on a ventilator, but Hollie says every organ in her husband's body, except his liver, began to shut down.
On May 13, Antwone lost his month-long battle to covid.
"Hard - but it is even harder for our children," Hollie said. "Our oldest, she is 13, and she is sadder for the younger two because they are 3 and 1. And she's sadder they won't have the memories the other children will have."
Hollie says both took Covid seriously, wearing a mask and social distancing, but didn't feel comfortable getting the vaccine. It is a decision Hollie now regrets.
"It was funny because two weeks prior to this happening - we were talking about it more saying maybe we should get vaccinated and now it's like, a big loss for everybody."
FOX 2: "If you could do it over again you would have gotten vaccinated?"
"Yes, no questions asked," she said.
And now Hollie is encouraging others to do the same. She never imagined she would be raising her young family alone.
"Most of all it feels like a dream and it hasn't hit me yet," she said.
On Saturday, family and friends will say their final goodbye to Antwone, but their journey is far from over.
Workers at Precision in Wayne where Antwone worked, set up a GoFundMe to help support his five children. To donate CLICK HERE.
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/n...t-phil-valentine-dies-after-battling-covid-19
Outspoken conservative radio host Phil Valentine dies after battling COVID-19
By: Ben Hall
Posted at 4:24 PM, Aug 21, 2021 and last updated 6:31 PM, Aug 21, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Conservative talk radio host Phil Valentine has died following a lengthy battle with COVID-19. He was 61 years old.
His death was announced by SuperTalk 99.7 WTN on Saturday afternoon after he had been battling the virus for more than a month.
On July 11, Valentine confirmed via his Facebook page that he had been diagnosed with COVID.
He was a prominent voice on Nashville radio for decades.
Valentine moved to talk radio full time in 1995, but in 2000, he received national attention by helping to organize horn honking protests against a proposed state income tax in Tennessee.
He broadcast his conservative talk radio show from outside the state Capitol, and urged people to drive by and make noise.
"We are going to have a one minute solid horn honking and we want you to participate in that," Valentine said from his broadcast booth.
Many credit the passionate protests with helping to defeat the state income tax which was proposed by a Republican Governor.
He later wrote a book about the protests called Tax Revolt.
It was one of several books he wrote during his career.
Valentine often discussed how his father was a Democrat and spent 12 years as a US Congressman.
But Valentine said he left the Democratic Party after Ronald Reagan became President.
His strong opinions helped get his radio show syndicated. It aired on stations across the country.
But his greatest influence was in Tennessee.
When Valentine felt Republican Speaker of House Glen Casada lied on his show by claiming a NewsChannel 5 investigation was inaccurate, he turned on Casada.
"It's always the cover-up that's worse," Valentine said.
"I'm expecting honest answers. I'm not expecting somebody to use me to spin his story and spin his web," Valentine said of Casada.
Not long after that Casada resigned as Speaker after losing support from a majority of Republican representatives.
Recently Valentine voiced skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine.
In December of 2020 he tweeted "I have a very low risk of A) Getting COVID and B) dying of it if I do. Why would I risk getting a heart attack or paralysis by getting the vaccine?"
He even recorded a parody song - Vaxman - mocking the vaccine.
In July, he told his audience he had COVID and he expected to be back soon.
But later updates from family and friends indicated how serious it was.
Valentine's brother said Phil regretted not being more pro-vaccine and wrote if he got back on the radio he would encourage people to get vaccinated.
According to family, Valentine fought hard, but was unable to beat the virus.
Outspoken conservative radio host Phil Valentine dies after battling COVID-19
By: Ben Hall
Posted at 4:24 PM, Aug 21, 2021 and last updated 6:31 PM, Aug 21, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Conservative talk radio host Phil Valentine has died following a lengthy battle with COVID-19. He was 61 years old.
His death was announced by SuperTalk 99.7 WTN on Saturday afternoon after he had been battling the virus for more than a month.
On July 11, Valentine confirmed via his Facebook page that he had been diagnosed with COVID.
He was a prominent voice on Nashville radio for decades.
Valentine moved to talk radio full time in 1995, but in 2000, he received national attention by helping to organize horn honking protests against a proposed state income tax in Tennessee.
He broadcast his conservative talk radio show from outside the state Capitol, and urged people to drive by and make noise.
"We are going to have a one minute solid horn honking and we want you to participate in that," Valentine said from his broadcast booth.
Many credit the passionate protests with helping to defeat the state income tax which was proposed by a Republican Governor.
He later wrote a book about the protests called Tax Revolt.
It was one of several books he wrote during his career.
Valentine often discussed how his father was a Democrat and spent 12 years as a US Congressman.
But Valentine said he left the Democratic Party after Ronald Reagan became President.
His strong opinions helped get his radio show syndicated. It aired on stations across the country.
But his greatest influence was in Tennessee.
When Valentine felt Republican Speaker of House Glen Casada lied on his show by claiming a NewsChannel 5 investigation was inaccurate, he turned on Casada.
"It's always the cover-up that's worse," Valentine said.
"I'm expecting honest answers. I'm not expecting somebody to use me to spin his story and spin his web," Valentine said of Casada.
Not long after that Casada resigned as Speaker after losing support from a majority of Republican representatives.
Recently Valentine voiced skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine.
In December of 2020 he tweeted "I have a very low risk of A) Getting COVID and B) dying of it if I do. Why would I risk getting a heart attack or paralysis by getting the vaccine?"
He even recorded a parody song - Vaxman - mocking the vaccine.
In July, he told his audience he had COVID and he expected to be back soon.
But later updates from family and friends indicated how serious it was.
Valentine's brother said Phil regretted not being more pro-vaccine and wrote if he got back on the radio he would encourage people to get vaccinated.
According to family, Valentine fought hard, but was unable to beat the virus.
How it started
How it was going:
How it ended:
Walking L’s
Though young and healthy, unvaccinated father dies of COVID
Though young and healthy, unvaccinated father dies of COVID
By KIM CHANDLER
yesterday
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19. With conflicting viewpoints about whether to get vaccinated against the virus filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait.
On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough initially thought to be sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Christina Tidmore witnessed a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband.
“She would say, ’I need a pulse. ’I would hear, ‘no pulse,’ “Christina Tidmore said through tears. “They were trying so hard.”
“Nobody should go through this. He was only 36 and I’m 35 and we have three kids.”
She is now imploring young adults not to dismiss the risk and to consider getting vaccinated.
“Josh was completely healthy, active, not a smoker.” He would have turned 37 on Saturday.
Doctors say they are seeing a spike in cases among young adults and children as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated populations. Medical officials say there is conflicting information on whether it makes people more severely ill or whether young people are more vulnerable to it, but it’s clear the contagiousness means more young people and children are getting sick.
“There is no question that the average age of people who are being hospitalized is going down,” State Health Officer Scott Harris said Friday.
“I don’t know if it’s clear that delta is worse in that age group or worse than any of the strains we’ve seen before. ... But what you have though is one that is just much, much more transmissible. Because seniors are the ones that are predominately the vaccinated population in our state, the most vulnerable are these younger people. So you see them getting infected at much higher rates than we had before.”
In the past four weeks, people ages 25 to 49 years, made up 14% of all COVID deaths in the state. And people 50 to 64 years made up about 29%.
The state is also seeing a surge in COVID cases among children, although deaths so far have been rare. The state this week set a record for pediatric hospitalizations with 50 children hospitalized with COVID-19.
In the past four weeks, 6% of cases of COVID-19 in Alabama have been among children under five while 8% have been among children between the ages of five and 17, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“I am very concerned that the children of Alabama are experiencing more illness and hospitalizations as a result of COVID-19. Children can and do contract and spread COVID-19 disease. COVID-19 can be a very serious illness in children with at least 6% of children experiencing long-term consequences of this disease,” said Dr. Karen Landers, a pediatrician with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The Alabama Hospital Association said this week that 85% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.
Christina Tidmore also had COVID-19 but recovered. She said she and her husband were not against vaccines - their children are current on their childhood immunizations.
But the couple was unsure about the coronavirus vaccine due to conflicting viewpoints on their social media feeds and in conversations.
She said that they didn’t “know hardly anybody that had gotten real sick and figured we would be OK.” Josh himself in the spring shared an article critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, writing, “this is why I don’t believe 99.9% of what’s said about this virus.”
Now, eligible family members are getting their coronavirus shots.
“It’s just a fight out there. This side and that side, and political garbage. ... You don’t know who to believe,” she said. Christina Tidmore said she has no doubt that they would have made a different choice now, knowing so many more people who have contracted the virus.
A jokester with a heart of gold, Josh loved to help others and to make people laugh, especially kids. He sauntered into Easter and Christmas gatherings wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume and ran around hugging family members. He would cheerfully photobomb beachgoers. He didn’t hesitate to rush to help a motorcyclist injured in an accident near the north Alabama church his grandparents founded.
“He could make you feel better when nobody else could. He would listen. He genuinely cared about everybody,” Christina Tidmore said.
The family is relying on their faith to get through and Christina Tidmore wants to share her husband’s story to help people — as Josh would have wanted.
“If you can try to save your life, then you probably should,” she said of vaccinations.
“I have lots of feelings and lots of regret and lots of what ifs,” she said. “”you don’t want to do that. You don’t.”
Though young and healthy, unvaccinated father dies of COVID
By KIM CHANDLER
yesterday
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19. With conflicting viewpoints about whether to get vaccinated against the virus filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait.
On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough initially thought to be sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Christina Tidmore witnessed a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband.
“She would say, ’I need a pulse. ’I would hear, ‘no pulse,’ “Christina Tidmore said through tears. “They were trying so hard.”
“Nobody should go through this. He was only 36 and I’m 35 and we have three kids.”
She is now imploring young adults not to dismiss the risk and to consider getting vaccinated.
“Josh was completely healthy, active, not a smoker.” He would have turned 37 on Saturday.
Doctors say they are seeing a spike in cases among young adults and children as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated populations. Medical officials say there is conflicting information on whether it makes people more severely ill or whether young people are more vulnerable to it, but it’s clear the contagiousness means more young people and children are getting sick.
“There is no question that the average age of people who are being hospitalized is going down,” State Health Officer Scott Harris said Friday.
“I don’t know if it’s clear that delta is worse in that age group or worse than any of the strains we’ve seen before. ... But what you have though is one that is just much, much more transmissible. Because seniors are the ones that are predominately the vaccinated population in our state, the most vulnerable are these younger people. So you see them getting infected at much higher rates than we had before.”
In the past four weeks, people ages 25 to 49 years, made up 14% of all COVID deaths in the state. And people 50 to 64 years made up about 29%.
The state is also seeing a surge in COVID cases among children, although deaths so far have been rare. The state this week set a record for pediatric hospitalizations with 50 children hospitalized with COVID-19.
In the past four weeks, 6% of cases of COVID-19 in Alabama have been among children under five while 8% have been among children between the ages of five and 17, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“I am very concerned that the children of Alabama are experiencing more illness and hospitalizations as a result of COVID-19. Children can and do contract and spread COVID-19 disease. COVID-19 can be a very serious illness in children with at least 6% of children experiencing long-term consequences of this disease,” said Dr. Karen Landers, a pediatrician with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The Alabama Hospital Association said this week that 85% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.
Christina Tidmore also had COVID-19 but recovered. She said she and her husband were not against vaccines - their children are current on their childhood immunizations.
But the couple was unsure about the coronavirus vaccine due to conflicting viewpoints on their social media feeds and in conversations.
She said that they didn’t “know hardly anybody that had gotten real sick and figured we would be OK.” Josh himself in the spring shared an article critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, writing, “this is why I don’t believe 99.9% of what’s said about this virus.”
Now, eligible family members are getting their coronavirus shots.
“It’s just a fight out there. This side and that side, and political garbage. ... You don’t know who to believe,” she said. Christina Tidmore said she has no doubt that they would have made a different choice now, knowing so many more people who have contracted the virus.
A jokester with a heart of gold, Josh loved to help others and to make people laugh, especially kids. He sauntered into Easter and Christmas gatherings wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume and ran around hugging family members. He would cheerfully photobomb beachgoers. He didn’t hesitate to rush to help a motorcyclist injured in an accident near the north Alabama church his grandparents founded.
“He could make you feel better when nobody else could. He would listen. He genuinely cared about everybody,” Christina Tidmore said.
The family is relying on their faith to get through and Christina Tidmore wants to share her husband’s story to help people — as Josh would have wanted.
“If you can try to save your life, then you probably should,” she said of vaccinations.
“I have lots of feelings and lots of regret and lots of what ifs,” she said. “”you don’t want to do that. You don’t.”
https://www.khou.com/article/news/h...band/285-07bc8f0e-7746-42dc-930a-cf051729f487
'This variant does not discriminate' | Dad of infant dies of COVID; widow says he refused to get vaccinated
Katherine Brooks lost her husband and father of their 4-month-old baby to COVID-19.
Father dies of COVID, his widow says he refused to get the vaccine
TOMBALL, Texas — A Tomball family is dealing with the unimaginable.
Katherine Brooks lost her husband and father to their 4-month-old girl to COVID-19.
“She’s 4 months old. She hasn’t had a first Christmas. She’s not going to have that with her dad," Brooks said. “When I got vaccinated, I tried to get him vaccinated."
At 42-years-old, Will Brooks wasn’t concerned about the virus. He was healthy. A veteran working as a security officer. Katherina said he always wore a mask, but never got the vaccine.
“He told me he wasn’t worried about it because it was really only causing a small percentage of deaths," she said.
Within a week of being diagnosed with COVID-19, Will was in the hospital.
“This variant does not discriminate. When Will got sick, he had COVID pneumonia," she said.
He made it 17 days before he died.
“I told him he was my favorite and I needed him. I told him I loved him and I told him to come back to me and he said he would," Katherine said.
The couple were newlyweds and having a baby wasn't easy. Carter was born after fertility treatments.
Will was excited to finally become a dad.
“He was a really good dad for the time they were together," Katherine said.
Katherine said she hopes his story will change someone’s mind.
“There are a lot of people who are hesitant to get vaccinated," Brooks said. “The original virus was like getting a really bad cold, really bad flu, but that’s just not the case anymore."
Katherine and Carter never got sick. Since she's vaccinated and she said she thinks she passed antibodies through breast milk, keeping Carter healthy.
'This variant does not discriminate' | Dad of infant dies of COVID; widow says he refused to get vaccinated
Katherine Brooks lost her husband and father of their 4-month-old baby to COVID-19.
Father dies of COVID, his widow says he refused to get the vaccine
TOMBALL, Texas — A Tomball family is dealing with the unimaginable.
Katherine Brooks lost her husband and father to their 4-month-old girl to COVID-19.
“She’s 4 months old. She hasn’t had a first Christmas. She’s not going to have that with her dad," Brooks said. “When I got vaccinated, I tried to get him vaccinated."
At 42-years-old, Will Brooks wasn’t concerned about the virus. He was healthy. A veteran working as a security officer. Katherina said he always wore a mask, but never got the vaccine.
“He told me he wasn’t worried about it because it was really only causing a small percentage of deaths," she said.
Within a week of being diagnosed with COVID-19, Will was in the hospital.
“This variant does not discriminate. When Will got sick, he had COVID pneumonia," she said.
He made it 17 days before he died.
“I told him he was my favorite and I needed him. I told him I loved him and I told him to come back to me and he said he would," Katherine said.
The couple were newlyweds and having a baby wasn't easy. Carter was born after fertility treatments.
Will was excited to finally become a dad.
“He was a really good dad for the time they were together," Katherine said.
Katherine said she hopes his story will change someone’s mind.
“There are a lot of people who are hesitant to get vaccinated," Brooks said. “The original virus was like getting a really bad cold, really bad flu, but that’s just not the case anymore."
Katherine and Carter never got sick. Since she's vaccinated and she said she thinks she passed antibodies through breast milk, keeping Carter healthy.