All this to sing the achy breaky and Cotton eye joe
Coronavirus Tales : From Fiction to Reality
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All this to sing the achy breaky and Cotton eye joe
Jacksonville woman says father died, mother hospitalized due to COVID-19
Brie Isom, Reporter
Published: July 20, 2021 7:53 pm
Updated: July 20, 2021 11:03 pm
Jacksonville woman says father died, mother hospitalized due to COVID-19
20-year-old is now taking care of her brother with special needs
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Jacksonville woman says father died, mother hospitalized due to COVID-19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 20-year-old Jacksonville woman is now the head of her household after losing her father to COVID-19 while her mother still fights for her life on a ventilator with COVID-19.
Amanda Beinborn has to fill both of her parents’ shoes, and those responsibilities include caring for her brother with special needs.
“A lot of people have that mentality that, you know, this isn’t going to happen to them. I basically felt the same way,” Beinborn told News4Jax on Tuesday.
Beinborn works as a customer service agent at a golf cart store and interacts with people daily. She said neither she nor her parents were vaccinated.
In June, Beinborn said, she thought she was coming down with a sinus infection.
“I was sniffling a lot. I wasn’t coughing or anything,” she recalled.
She said she got tested for COVID-19 and the positive result soon changed her entire life.
Beinborn said she was sick with the coronavirus for four days, but her parents and brother became ill too and didn’t fight it as well.
“They had some other issues outside of COVID, so I’m sure that’s why it hit them so hard,” Beinborn said.
Beinborn said she took her mother to the hospital on June 29 and her mother was admitted to the intensive care unit.
“My mom had a 103.7 fever. She was coughing,” Beinborn said.
She said her father started having mild symptoms and thought he had fought it off, but then July 3 came around.
“He called me at 6:30 in the morning, ‘I need to go to the hospital I’m not doing well,’” she recounted.
When Beinborn took her father to the hospital, she said, he was immediately admitted to the ICU. A few hours later, she said, she took her 30-year-old brother to the hospital and he was hooked up to an oxygen machine but was discharged a few days later. She said her brother is still on oxygen at home.
After weeks of fighting, Beinborn said, her 55-year-old father Dennis lost his battle with COVID-19 on July 19. She said she watched him take his last breath.
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Beinborn with father
“I looked at him and said, ‘I forgive you for not being able to battle anymore. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. If you need to let go, let go. It’s OK,’” she said.
Beinborn said the delta variant took her father’s life. According to doctors, most of the COVID-19 cases in Northeast Florida right now are the delta variant.
“This delta variant seems to be affecting younger people 30 to 50,” said Dr. Sunil Joshi, president of the Duval County Medical Society Foundation. “The symptoms are not necessarily different. They just seem to be transmitted much more rapidly.”
Now Beinborn is left with bills to pay as she takes care of her brother. But she said she can’t pay those bills because she doesn’t have access to her parents’ personal information.
“Our electricity went out for a few hours, like five hours, when my brother was here on oxygen, and I called them and said I didn’t know anything was paid because my mother got text messages whenever something was paid,” she said.
In the meantime, Beinborn is waiting for her mother to come home from the hospital.
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Beinborn with father
Pam Freymiller, Beinborn’s father’s sister, is staying with Beinborn to help her. Freymiller encourages everyone to take COVID-19 seriously and get vaccinated.
“Everybody has their own decisions to make, but just seeing what these guys have gone through, you got to do it,” Freymiller said.
Beinborn said her mother is getting better and doctors think she should be out of the ICU in a few days.
Brie Isom, Reporter
Published: July 20, 2021 7:53 pm
Updated: July 20, 2021 11:03 pm
Jacksonville woman says father died, mother hospitalized due to COVID-19
20-year-old is now taking care of her brother with special needs
Jacksonville woman says father died, mother hospitalized due to COVID-19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 20-year-old Jacksonville woman is now the head of her household after losing her father to COVID-19 while her mother still fights for her life on a ventilator with COVID-19.
Amanda Beinborn has to fill both of her parents’ shoes, and those responsibilities include caring for her brother with special needs.
“A lot of people have that mentality that, you know, this isn’t going to happen to them. I basically felt the same way,” Beinborn told News4Jax on Tuesday.
Beinborn works as a customer service agent at a golf cart store and interacts with people daily. She said neither she nor her parents were vaccinated.
In June, Beinborn said, she thought she was coming down with a sinus infection.
“I was sniffling a lot. I wasn’t coughing or anything,” she recalled.
She said she got tested for COVID-19 and the positive result soon changed her entire life.
Beinborn said she was sick with the coronavirus for four days, but her parents and brother became ill too and didn’t fight it as well.
“They had some other issues outside of COVID, so I’m sure that’s why it hit them so hard,” Beinborn said.
Beinborn said she took her mother to the hospital on June 29 and her mother was admitted to the intensive care unit.
“My mom had a 103.7 fever. She was coughing,” Beinborn said.
She said her father started having mild symptoms and thought he had fought it off, but then July 3 came around.
“He called me at 6:30 in the morning, ‘I need to go to the hospital I’m not doing well,’” she recounted.
When Beinborn took her father to the hospital, she said, he was immediately admitted to the ICU. A few hours later, she said, she took her 30-year-old brother to the hospital and he was hooked up to an oxygen machine but was discharged a few days later. She said her brother is still on oxygen at home.
After weeks of fighting, Beinborn said, her 55-year-old father Dennis lost his battle with COVID-19 on July 19. She said she watched him take his last breath.
Beinborn with father
“I looked at him and said, ‘I forgive you for not being able to battle anymore. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. If you need to let go, let go. It’s OK,’” she said.
Beinborn said the delta variant took her father’s life. According to doctors, most of the COVID-19 cases in Northeast Florida right now are the delta variant.
“This delta variant seems to be affecting younger people 30 to 50,” said Dr. Sunil Joshi, president of the Duval County Medical Society Foundation. “The symptoms are not necessarily different. They just seem to be transmitted much more rapidly.”
Now Beinborn is left with bills to pay as she takes care of her brother. But she said she can’t pay those bills because she doesn’t have access to her parents’ personal information.
“Our electricity went out for a few hours, like five hours, when my brother was here on oxygen, and I called them and said I didn’t know anything was paid because my mother got text messages whenever something was paid,” she said.
In the meantime, Beinborn is waiting for her mother to come home from the hospital.
Beinborn with father
Pam Freymiller, Beinborn’s father’s sister, is staying with Beinborn to help her. Freymiller encourages everyone to take COVID-19 seriously and get vaccinated.
“Everybody has their own decisions to make, but just seeing what these guys have gone through, you got to do it,” Freymiller said.
Beinborn said her mother is getting better and doctors think she should be out of the ICU in a few days.
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Health coach who was in ICU with COVID-19 encourages others to get vaccinated
Unvaccinated Jacksonville dad hospitalized for COVID-19, warns others to take virus seriously
Brie Isom, Reporter
Published: July 19, 2021 9:09 pm
Updated: July 19, 2021 10:30 pm
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Frue McAvoy is a 33-year-old health coach who used to run up to 10 miles a day and has no underlying health conditions.
But he’s unvaccinated and currently fighting for his life with a severe case of COVID-19 -- which doctors believe is the delta variant.
“Never in a million years did I think I would get it or that it would affect me,” McAvoy told News4Jax on Monday.
On June 24, McAvoy said, he and his girlfriend went to the hospital with high fevers. He said they were discharged the same day and given oxygen monitors. Three days later, McAvoy said, things went downhill fast for him.
“I remember collapsing, and my girlfriend put a finger oxygen reader on my finger, and it measured 56%,” McAvoy recalled. “She called 911 and rushed me to Baptist.”
McAvoy said they immediately put him in the intensive care unit under 24/7 supervision.
“They told my father they didn’t think I would make it that night,” he said.
While in the ICU, McAvoy said, he developed pneumonia. He said he was eventually able to return to his home on Saturday but not without a nurse, an oxygen mask and a machine he has to use 24/7. Without oxygen, his levels are still under 80%.
While fighting the coronavirus, McAvoy’s best friend lost the same fight at age 36.
“We need to be more aware of it start wearing masks again,” McAvoy said.
He also said he encourages people to get vaccinated.
“Do it. Get it,” he said.
As COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the Jacksonville area, Dr. Mohammed Reza, an infectious disease specialist, said local hospitals are overwhelmed. He compares it to being on fire, saying everyone needs to help put out that fire by getting vaccinated.
“If we can’t manage the number of patients coming through our door and it’s overwhelming our staff and infecting staff with COVID, we can’t take care of patients who are coming in with basic things,” Reza said.
Reza said more variants will continue to form if people don’t get vaccinated because viruses mutate.
Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.
Unvaccinated Jacksonville dad hospitalized for COVID-19, warns others to take virus seriously
Brie Isom, Reporter
Published: July 19, 2021 9:09 pm
Updated: July 19, 2021 10:30 pm
- Health coach who was in ICU with COVID-19 encourages others to get vaccinated
33-year-old who did not get the vaccine is battling a severe case of COVID-19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Frue McAvoy is a 33-year-old health coach who used to run up to 10 miles a day and has no underlying health conditions.
But he’s unvaccinated and currently fighting for his life with a severe case of COVID-19 -- which doctors believe is the delta variant.
“Never in a million years did I think I would get it or that it would affect me,” McAvoy told News4Jax on Monday.
On June 24, McAvoy said, he and his girlfriend went to the hospital with high fevers. He said they were discharged the same day and given oxygen monitors. Three days later, McAvoy said, things went downhill fast for him.
“I remember collapsing, and my girlfriend put a finger oxygen reader on my finger, and it measured 56%,” McAvoy recalled. “She called 911 and rushed me to Baptist.”
McAvoy said they immediately put him in the intensive care unit under 24/7 supervision.
“They told my father they didn’t think I would make it that night,” he said.
While in the ICU, McAvoy said, he developed pneumonia. He said he was eventually able to return to his home on Saturday but not without a nurse, an oxygen mask and a machine he has to use 24/7. Without oxygen, his levels are still under 80%.
While fighting the coronavirus, McAvoy’s best friend lost the same fight at age 36.
“We need to be more aware of it start wearing masks again,” McAvoy said.
He also said he encourages people to get vaccinated.
“Do it. Get it,” he said.
As COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the Jacksonville area, Dr. Mohammed Reza, an infectious disease specialist, said local hospitals are overwhelmed. He compares it to being on fire, saying everyone needs to help put out that fire by getting vaccinated.
“If we can’t manage the number of patients coming through our door and it’s overwhelming our staff and infecting staff with COVID, we can’t take care of patients who are coming in with basic things,” Reza said.
Reza said more variants will continue to form if people don’t get vaccinated because viruses mutate.
Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.
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Lake Butler woman shares her near-death experience after contracting COVID-19
Corley Peel, Reporter
Published: July 20, 2021 6:44 pm
Updated: July 20, 2021 11:36 pm
Lake Butler woman shares her near-death experience after contracting COVID-19
43-year-old is back home but has a long road to recovery
A Lake Butler woman has returned home following her near-death experience after she contracted COVID-19.
“I am 43 years old. Never in my life have I ever felt so close to death,” Ganeene Starling told News4Jax on Tuesday about her time in the hospital.
Starling said her family got COVID-19 because her husband, who is a captain at a prison in Lake Butler, was infected at work.
She was treated at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. She said the emergency room was packed and staff appeared to be overwhelmed as she spent a lot of time alone.
“One of the female nurses made a comment regarding that she was the only one who could help me at the moment,” Starling said. “I was told that I probably would die. My husband was called at like 3 o’clock in the morning, saying I probably would not live through the night.”
Starling has since returned home. She said she didn’t know if she would make it, but she had to pull through for her eight children and five grandchildren.
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Florida have increased. Dr. Mohammed Reza, an infectious disease specialist, said the delta variant is causing more people to get sicker quicker.
“We’re talking about a variant that’s 225% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 infection,” Reza said. “People who are infected with this variant produce about 1,000 times more viral copies in their respiratory tract.”
Reza said the COVID-19 shots do offer protection against the variant. He said studies show Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective against it for people who’ve had both doses.
Starling said she was not vaccinated.
“I will be honest with you, when this comes around, I thought the vaccine hasn’t been around long enough. I was leery of it,” she said. “But now, looking back, I wish to God I would had.”
Despite being home, Starling said she has a long road to recover. She said she is looking at the possibility of long-term lung damage and her doctor also told her that she could face blood clots.
Corley Peel, Reporter
Published: July 20, 2021 6:44 pm
Updated: July 20, 2021 11:36 pm
Lake Butler woman shares her near-death experience after contracting COVID-19
43-year-old is back home but has a long road to recovery
A Lake Butler woman has returned home following her near-death experience after she contracted COVID-19.
“I am 43 years old. Never in my life have I ever felt so close to death,” Ganeene Starling told News4Jax on Tuesday about her time in the hospital.
Starling said her family got COVID-19 because her husband, who is a captain at a prison in Lake Butler, was infected at work.
She was treated at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. She said the emergency room was packed and staff appeared to be overwhelmed as she spent a lot of time alone.
“One of the female nurses made a comment regarding that she was the only one who could help me at the moment,” Starling said. “I was told that I probably would die. My husband was called at like 3 o’clock in the morning, saying I probably would not live through the night.”
Starling has since returned home. She said she didn’t know if she would make it, but she had to pull through for her eight children and five grandchildren.
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Florida have increased. Dr. Mohammed Reza, an infectious disease specialist, said the delta variant is causing more people to get sicker quicker.
“We’re talking about a variant that’s 225% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 infection,” Reza said. “People who are infected with this variant produce about 1,000 times more viral copies in their respiratory tract.”
Reza said the COVID-19 shots do offer protection against the variant. He said studies show Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective against it for people who’ve had both doses.
Starling said she was not vaccinated.
“I will be honest with you, when this comes around, I thought the vaccine hasn’t been around long enough. I was leery of it,” she said. “But now, looking back, I wish to God I would had.”
Despite being home, Starling said she has a long road to recover. She said she is looking at the possibility of long-term lung damage and her doctor also told her that she could face blood clots.
https://www.joplinglobe.com/coronav...cle_45eade52-e422-11eb-9c75-37579314a470.html
Neosho man fighting for his life following COVID-19 infection
Vincent Simone’s mother, Sarajane Armstrong (right), and wife, Hannah Simone, check on him via cellphone Thursday. He is in a medically induced coma battling COVID-19 at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. Globe | Roger Nomer
Globe | Roger Nomer
NEOSHO, Mo. — At least twice a day, Sarajane Armstrong tells her 23-year-old son how much she loves him and that she’ll see him soon, promising him one of her “momma-bear” hugs.
These 30-minute conversations began Saturday, June 26, when Vincent Simone was transported by air from Freeman Neosho Hospital to Missouri Baptist Medical Center St. Louis.
Vincent, described by his mother as both a “strong boy” and a “tree trunk,” has been in a medically induced coma for the past 21 days as his body struggles with the COVID-19 virus. Due to hospital protocol, neither Armstrong nor Vincent’s wife, Hannah Simone, can visit him. They can only speak to him remotely or stare at him through a video link from their Neosho home 290 miles away.
Without any means of touching or kissing or hugging him, the two women say they hate the situation they find themselves in, but for Vincent’s sake work to remain strong and united, surrounded by a protective bubble of family members and close friends.
Vincent Simone, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, dances with his proud mother, Sarajane Armstrong, on his wedding day. Though Armstrong would love nothing more than to do this dance with her son, he’s currently 300 miles away at a St. Louis hospital, fighting COVID-19.
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
“We’re in a really hard place because I really want to be with my son, and I can’t even imagine how Hannah feels wanting to be with her husband, holding his hand — but we can’t,” Armstrong said. “It’s just a minute-by-minute, day-by-day situation.”
Family members say Vincent wasn’t vaccinated against the virus that has killed more than 10,000 people in Missouri, 623,000 Americans across the country and nearly 4.1 million worldwide. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the state is among the top five when it comes to new cases and hospitalizations, and the overwhelming percentage of those who are sick are unvaccinated. Southwest Missouri counties, including Newton, have vaccination rates in the 20% range or lower, compared with approximately 40% of the state having been fully vaccinated.
“The doctors told us it’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Armstrong said. “We actually call it a roller coaster — and it has been, with lots of ups and downs. It’s just been so difficult.”
‘He thought he had heatstroke’
Vincent Simone was an offensive lineman for the Neosho Wildcats during his high school years. Now, the 23-year-old plumber is battling COVID-19 and several other complications. Doctors say his chance of survival is 30% to 50%.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
A new-construction plumber by trade, the 2016 Neosho High School graduate came home after work on Friday, June 11, complaining about feeling fatigued. At the time, Vincent told his wife he thought he was suffering from heatstroke.
“That’s why we thought he was sleeping so much,” Hannah said. “COVID never crossed our minds, any of us, because he’s just so big and strong.”
He tested positive for the virus on June 15, and he was immediately placed under house quarantine. He continued to sleep, feeling exhausted and weak. On June 17, Hannah received a text from her husband, who was isolated inside the bedroom.
“I was in the living room that morning, and he told me he needed to go to the hospital — he couldn’t breathe. It was shocking because he never (gets sick) and he never goes to the doctor. I knew he wasn’t feeling well. I knew he was bad.”
Walking from the car to the hospital, Vincent’s “breathing was so shallow he could only take a couple of steps at a time,” Hannah said. “He was able to walk himself from the parking lot at Freeman to the little bay area by the emergency room, but he had to take breaks.”
Freeman Neosho physicians did everything they could for Vincent during his 11-day stay there and eventually helped transfer him to Missouri Baptist. He was flown on a plane to the hospital the night of June 26. It was the first plane ride of his life.
“We are so thankful for them,” Armstrong said of the St. Louis-based hospital. “They are angels. They are taking so good care of him.”
Vincent Simone was an offensive lineman for the Neosho Wildcats during his high school years. Now, the 23-year-old plumber is battling with COVID-19 and several other complications. Doctors say his chance of survival are 30% to 50%.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
Chance of survival
Under most circumstances, a healthy 23-year-old man who also was a varsity football player and record-breaking weightlifter at Neosho High School has good odds of fending off COVID-19. In Vincent’s case, however, he has several preexisting conditions that are preventing his body from fully defeating the invading virus.
Vincent was diagnosed at the age of 5 with monogenic diabetes; he also suffers from alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a serious lung disease. Take those, and mix in COVID-19-induced pneumonia, and it’s easy to understand why Vincent has been on both a ventilator and an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which supports the regular functions of the heart and lungs to allow the body better opportunity to fight off the virus.
“I would have thought the elderly or children would be vulnerable (to COVID-19) … so here’s my 23-year-old, who can move furniture by himself when he helps people move, on a ventilator and ECMO machine — it’s devastating,” Armstrong said.
During his hospital stay, Vincent has also had to fend off a bout of MERSA, a contagious bacterial infection; a bleeding ulcer; and an infection in a heart valve that was discovered only when surgeons were hooking his heart up to the ECMO machine. Another preexisting condition, had the heart infection not been found due to his COVID-19 diagnosis, there’s a chance it could have killed Vincent in later years, Armstrong said.
Vincent Simone holds his wife, Hannah, close to him on a front porch swing of their Neosho home. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 in June and has been in an induced coma for weeks now at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
“It’s the weirdest thing to say this but … I’m not grateful that he’s sick, but I am grateful that they found” the heart infection, she said. Still, the various preexisting conditions “are making it more difficult for him to heal.”
It’s for all of these reasons why Vincent’s doctors have given him a 30% to 50% chance of survival at the moment, Armstrong said.
“They told us they don’t start seeing (vast) improvements until day 30 or day 40 on the ECMO, so it’s pretty common for his numbers to go up and down until they find a good medium with all of his medications and they get him relaxed and in a good place,” she said. He’s about a third of the way to that goal. “So that was great to hear.”
If there hasn’t been much improvement after that 30- to 40-day mark, “we won’t know what the next step will be,” Armstrong said, her voice breaking. “We don’t know what would happen next. But he’s young, he’s strong, and there’s hope that he can fight it.”
“And he’s stubborn,” Hannah added.
There have been some positive signs shown over the last few weeks, Armstrong said — or as she likes to call them, “baby steps of improvement.”
During a video conference with the comatose Vincent on July 12, both women said his face looked “less puffy” and that he had more color. Vincent’s ventilator oxygen levels, they added, have decreased from 100% to 75%. and whereas nurses were forced to keep him consistently on his back before, they’re now able to reposition him in bed to relieve the pressure to his lungs.
“It gives us hope,” Armstrong said. “I will take no change over a bad change.”
Vincent Simone’s mother, Sarajane Armstrong, and wife, Hannah Simone, talk with him in his room at Missouri Baptist Memorial Center on Thursday.
Globe | Roger Nomer
COVID-19 on the home front
Just days after Vincent was hospitalized with COVID-19, one of Armstrong’s younger children tested positive for the virus, forcing a new round of home quarantines.
At that time, Armstrong, her husband, Steve (Vincent’s stepfather), and their four children lived with Vincent and Hannah — a circumstance forced when Steve suffered a massive stroke in January. Other family members live in the house, including additional children. In recent months, Vincent had been working as hard as ever to provide financially for them all, Armstrong said.
Three of the children inside the home — ages 17, 16 and 12 — tested positive for COVID-19 at various times in June and July, Armstrong said. When one child came out of isolation, another would test positive and begin the process all over again. Luckily, all three of the children showed mild symptoms, mostly a cough. The last child left quarantine on July 11.
“None of them got sick like Vincent,” she said. “It’s so weird how COVID is so random and it’s so different for everyone.”
Both Armstrong and Hannah have avoided contracting COVID-19, which has allowed them to focus their attention on their sick family members while making their daily phone calls to Vincent bed in St. Louis. The chaotic circumstances have created a bond between the two women.
“We love each other so much,” Armstrong said. “(Hannah) is such a good woman. She is just amazing. Not a lot of daughters-in-law would let their mother-in-law and father-in-law … move in with them. But she treats my girls like she is their sister and we are definitely good friends. She is a really good person, and I know she genuinely loves my son.”
Vincent Simone's mother, Sarajane Armstrong, and wife, Hannah Simone, check on the 23-year-old husband and son via cellphone from Neosho to a patient room at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis.
GLOBE | ROGER NOMER
Globe | Roger Nomer
‘COVID now scares me’
While Armstrong would have probably ignored such comments before, she now bristles when she hears or reads comments from people saying the threat of COVID-19 has been over-exaggerated or it is somehow fake news.
“I sure do get angry now,” she said. “It wasn’t like I was scared before to go out; I knew there was a virus out there and that people could get sick and that people were dying. But now that I’m in the situation that I’m in, it’s definitely something I think about more. I think it’s opened a lot of people’s eyes, a lot of people who weren’t thinking much about it before.”
Vincent Simone smiles in a portrait from his wedding day. The 23-year-old, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, is now fighting for his life in a St. Louis hospital.
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
Some people she knows were among those claiming COVID-19 wasn’t that big of a deal, “but a lot of those people don’t feel like that anymore,” she continued. “Or at least those that we know.”
Many of Vincent’s friends, horrified by what’s happened to him, have chosen to get vaccinated, Armstrong said — “all because of Vincent. If this hadn’t happened to Vince, they may not have gotten protected against the virus.”
Though neither Armstrong nor Hannah is vaccinated at the moment, getting the needle in her upper arm “is definitely something that I have been thinking about getting,” Armstrong said.
A Facebook page, “Pray for Vince,” has been created to update family and friends about the man’s condition. As of July 13, it had nearly 580 followers and more than 560 likes.
To help with medical and family expenses due to Vincent’s struggles with COVID-19 and his continued absence from work, a GoFundMe account — “Help Vincent Simone and Family Conquer Covid-19” — has been established. More than 60 donors have raised $5,518 out of a goal of $18,500.
The family has also been floored by the vast number of phone calls, well-wishers, prayers and food given to them by the Neosho community, with some folks even washing and drying the family’s clothes.
“It’s just amazing to know that people care that much about my son and my daughter-in-law,” Armstrong said. “We have 20 million little breakdowns a day; it’s tough, but we have some really amazing friends and family who have been taking care of us.”
For now, the two women are living by a family favorite motto: “Just keep on keeping on.”
“I just hope he gets better,” Armstrong said about her son, her voice cracking. “I know he’s a fighter and I know he’s strong, and we’ll just be here waiting for him to come home.”
Neosho man fighting for his life following COVID-19 infection
- By Kevin McClintock | kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com
- Jul 16, 2021 Updated Jul 17, 2021
Vincent Simone’s mother, Sarajane Armstrong (right), and wife, Hannah Simone, check on him via cellphone Thursday. He is in a medically induced coma battling COVID-19 at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. Globe | Roger Nomer
Globe | Roger Nomer
NEOSHO, Mo. — At least twice a day, Sarajane Armstrong tells her 23-year-old son how much she loves him and that she’ll see him soon, promising him one of her “momma-bear” hugs.
These 30-minute conversations began Saturday, June 26, when Vincent Simone was transported by air from Freeman Neosho Hospital to Missouri Baptist Medical Center St. Louis.
Vincent, described by his mother as both a “strong boy” and a “tree trunk,” has been in a medically induced coma for the past 21 days as his body struggles with the COVID-19 virus. Due to hospital protocol, neither Armstrong nor Vincent’s wife, Hannah Simone, can visit him. They can only speak to him remotely or stare at him through a video link from their Neosho home 290 miles away.
Without any means of touching or kissing or hugging him, the two women say they hate the situation they find themselves in, but for Vincent’s sake work to remain strong and united, surrounded by a protective bubble of family members and close friends.
Vincent Simone, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, dances with his proud mother, Sarajane Armstrong, on his wedding day. Though Armstrong would love nothing more than to do this dance with her son, he’s currently 300 miles away at a St. Louis hospital, fighting COVID-19.
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
“We’re in a really hard place because I really want to be with my son, and I can’t even imagine how Hannah feels wanting to be with her husband, holding his hand — but we can’t,” Armstrong said. “It’s just a minute-by-minute, day-by-day situation.”
Family members say Vincent wasn’t vaccinated against the virus that has killed more than 10,000 people in Missouri, 623,000 Americans across the country and nearly 4.1 million worldwide. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the state is among the top five when it comes to new cases and hospitalizations, and the overwhelming percentage of those who are sick are unvaccinated. Southwest Missouri counties, including Newton, have vaccination rates in the 20% range or lower, compared with approximately 40% of the state having been fully vaccinated.
“The doctors told us it’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Armstrong said. “We actually call it a roller coaster — and it has been, with lots of ups and downs. It’s just been so difficult.”
‘He thought he had heatstroke’
Vincent Simone was an offensive lineman for the Neosho Wildcats during his high school years. Now, the 23-year-old plumber is battling COVID-19 and several other complications. Doctors say his chance of survival is 30% to 50%.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
A new-construction plumber by trade, the 2016 Neosho High School graduate came home after work on Friday, June 11, complaining about feeling fatigued. At the time, Vincent told his wife he thought he was suffering from heatstroke.
“That’s why we thought he was sleeping so much,” Hannah said. “COVID never crossed our minds, any of us, because he’s just so big and strong.”
He tested positive for the virus on June 15, and he was immediately placed under house quarantine. He continued to sleep, feeling exhausted and weak. On June 17, Hannah received a text from her husband, who was isolated inside the bedroom.
“I was in the living room that morning, and he told me he needed to go to the hospital — he couldn’t breathe. It was shocking because he never (gets sick) and he never goes to the doctor. I knew he wasn’t feeling well. I knew he was bad.”
Walking from the car to the hospital, Vincent’s “breathing was so shallow he could only take a couple of steps at a time,” Hannah said. “He was able to walk himself from the parking lot at Freeman to the little bay area by the emergency room, but he had to take breaks.”
Freeman Neosho physicians did everything they could for Vincent during his 11-day stay there and eventually helped transfer him to Missouri Baptist. He was flown on a plane to the hospital the night of June 26. It was the first plane ride of his life.
“We are so thankful for them,” Armstrong said of the St. Louis-based hospital. “They are angels. They are taking so good care of him.”
Vincent Simone was an offensive lineman for the Neosho Wildcats during his high school years. Now, the 23-year-old plumber is battling with COVID-19 and several other complications. Doctors say his chance of survival are 30% to 50%.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
Chance of survival
Under most circumstances, a healthy 23-year-old man who also was a varsity football player and record-breaking weightlifter at Neosho High School has good odds of fending off COVID-19. In Vincent’s case, however, he has several preexisting conditions that are preventing his body from fully defeating the invading virus.
Vincent was diagnosed at the age of 5 with monogenic diabetes; he also suffers from alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a serious lung disease. Take those, and mix in COVID-19-induced pneumonia, and it’s easy to understand why Vincent has been on both a ventilator and an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which supports the regular functions of the heart and lungs to allow the body better opportunity to fight off the virus.
“I would have thought the elderly or children would be vulnerable (to COVID-19) … so here’s my 23-year-old, who can move furniture by himself when he helps people move, on a ventilator and ECMO machine — it’s devastating,” Armstrong said.
During his hospital stay, Vincent has also had to fend off a bout of MERSA, a contagious bacterial infection; a bleeding ulcer; and an infection in a heart valve that was discovered only when surgeons were hooking his heart up to the ECMO machine. Another preexisting condition, had the heart infection not been found due to his COVID-19 diagnosis, there’s a chance it could have killed Vincent in later years, Armstrong said.
Vincent Simone holds his wife, Hannah, close to him on a front porch swing of their Neosho home. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 in June and has been in an induced coma for weeks now at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis.
COURTESY | SIMONE FAMILY
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
“It’s the weirdest thing to say this but … I’m not grateful that he’s sick, but I am grateful that they found” the heart infection, she said. Still, the various preexisting conditions “are making it more difficult for him to heal.”
It’s for all of these reasons why Vincent’s doctors have given him a 30% to 50% chance of survival at the moment, Armstrong said.
“They told us they don’t start seeing (vast) improvements until day 30 or day 40 on the ECMO, so it’s pretty common for his numbers to go up and down until they find a good medium with all of his medications and they get him relaxed and in a good place,” she said. He’s about a third of the way to that goal. “So that was great to hear.”
If there hasn’t been much improvement after that 30- to 40-day mark, “we won’t know what the next step will be,” Armstrong said, her voice breaking. “We don’t know what would happen next. But he’s young, he’s strong, and there’s hope that he can fight it.”
“And he’s stubborn,” Hannah added.
There have been some positive signs shown over the last few weeks, Armstrong said — or as she likes to call them, “baby steps of improvement.”
During a video conference with the comatose Vincent on July 12, both women said his face looked “less puffy” and that he had more color. Vincent’s ventilator oxygen levels, they added, have decreased from 100% to 75%. and whereas nurses were forced to keep him consistently on his back before, they’re now able to reposition him in bed to relieve the pressure to his lungs.
“It gives us hope,” Armstrong said. “I will take no change over a bad change.”
Vincent Simone’s mother, Sarajane Armstrong, and wife, Hannah Simone, talk with him in his room at Missouri Baptist Memorial Center on Thursday.
Globe | Roger Nomer
COVID-19 on the home front
Just days after Vincent was hospitalized with COVID-19, one of Armstrong’s younger children tested positive for the virus, forcing a new round of home quarantines.
At that time, Armstrong, her husband, Steve (Vincent’s stepfather), and their four children lived with Vincent and Hannah — a circumstance forced when Steve suffered a massive stroke in January. Other family members live in the house, including additional children. In recent months, Vincent had been working as hard as ever to provide financially for them all, Armstrong said.
Three of the children inside the home — ages 17, 16 and 12 — tested positive for COVID-19 at various times in June and July, Armstrong said. When one child came out of isolation, another would test positive and begin the process all over again. Luckily, all three of the children showed mild symptoms, mostly a cough. The last child left quarantine on July 11.
“None of them got sick like Vincent,” she said. “It’s so weird how COVID is so random and it’s so different for everyone.”
Both Armstrong and Hannah have avoided contracting COVID-19, which has allowed them to focus their attention on their sick family members while making their daily phone calls to Vincent bed in St. Louis. The chaotic circumstances have created a bond between the two women.
“We love each other so much,” Armstrong said. “(Hannah) is such a good woman. She is just amazing. Not a lot of daughters-in-law would let their mother-in-law and father-in-law … move in with them. But she treats my girls like she is their sister and we are definitely good friends. She is a really good person, and I know she genuinely loves my son.”
Vincent Simone's mother, Sarajane Armstrong, and wife, Hannah Simone, check on the 23-year-old husband and son via cellphone from Neosho to a patient room at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis.
GLOBE | ROGER NOMER
Globe | Roger Nomer
‘COVID now scares me’
While Armstrong would have probably ignored such comments before, she now bristles when she hears or reads comments from people saying the threat of COVID-19 has been over-exaggerated or it is somehow fake news.
“I sure do get angry now,” she said. “It wasn’t like I was scared before to go out; I knew there was a virus out there and that people could get sick and that people were dying. But now that I’m in the situation that I’m in, it’s definitely something I think about more. I think it’s opened a lot of people’s eyes, a lot of people who weren’t thinking much about it before.”
Vincent Simone smiles in a portrait from his wedding day. The 23-year-old, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, is now fighting for his life in a St. Louis hospital.
Courtesy | Sarajane Armstrong
Some people she knows were among those claiming COVID-19 wasn’t that big of a deal, “but a lot of those people don’t feel like that anymore,” she continued. “Or at least those that we know.”
Many of Vincent’s friends, horrified by what’s happened to him, have chosen to get vaccinated, Armstrong said — “all because of Vincent. If this hadn’t happened to Vince, they may not have gotten protected against the virus.”
Though neither Armstrong nor Hannah is vaccinated at the moment, getting the needle in her upper arm “is definitely something that I have been thinking about getting,” Armstrong said.
A Facebook page, “Pray for Vince,” has been created to update family and friends about the man’s condition. As of July 13, it had nearly 580 followers and more than 560 likes.
To help with medical and family expenses due to Vincent’s struggles with COVID-19 and his continued absence from work, a GoFundMe account — “Help Vincent Simone and Family Conquer Covid-19” — has been established. More than 60 donors have raised $5,518 out of a goal of $18,500.
The family has also been floored by the vast number of phone calls, well-wishers, prayers and food given to them by the Neosho community, with some folks even washing and drying the family’s clothes.
“It’s just amazing to know that people care that much about my son and my daughter-in-law,” Armstrong said. “We have 20 million little breakdowns a day; it’s tough, but we have some really amazing friends and family who have been taking care of us.”
For now, the two women are living by a family favorite motto: “Just keep on keeping on.”
“I just hope he gets better,” Armstrong said about her son, her voice cracking. “I know he’s a fighter and I know he’s strong, and we’ll just be here waiting for him to come home.”
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/...d-19/289-fb080e4a-18a8-4ff2-88e8-9a62ebcdf25c
'He thought the vaccine was poison' - Woman pushes vaccines after brother's death
Adler and her four brothers grew up in Kenner. Just over a month ago, they had to say goodbye to one of those brothers, Alan Scott Lanoix.
Author: Erika Ferrando (WWL)
Published: 10:51 PM CDT July 15, 2021
Updated: 9:35 AM CDT July 16, 2021
CHALMETTE, La. — It's been just over a month since a husband and father lost his life to COVID-19. His sister is now sharing his story hoping it could save another life.
Lisa Adler owns AJ Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Chalmette. Business is finally picking back up.
"We're lucky we kept all our employees the whole time," Adler said.
Even the stress and uncertainty of keeping a business afloat during the pandemic is nothing compared to the deepest pain COVID can cause. It's a grief Adler is now facing.
"It's hard to believe that one decision can change your whole life," she said.
Adler and her four brothers grew up in Kenner. Just over a month ago, they had to say goodbye to one of those brothers, Alan Scott Lanoix.
"He was a great part of our family and we will always miss him," she said.
Lanoix was married to his high school sweetheart and had three sons.
"The kids had to bury their father on Father's day," Adler said.
Lanoix moved his family to Katy, TX after Katrina and was working at a manufacturing firm. Adler said the last time she spoke with him was in May. He called to tell her happy birthday. He also told her he was exposed to COVID-19 at work.
"I kept telling him 'you'll have immunity now and everything will be okay.' He told me that no matter what happens with his life, he was happy with his life and loved his family," Adler said.
Lanoix tested positive and spent 17 days in the hospital with several on a ventilator. His wife and sons all tested positive too. They survived, but Lanoix died June 9 at 54 years old.
"They did a video chat and let me at least say goodbye to him," Adler said.
Adler said she too was hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine but ultimately decided to get the shot in March.
"I was scared to get it myself, but you have to worry about what the consequences are," she said.
Her brother did not make the same choice.
"He thought the vaccine was poison and he was afraid of getting it and there's a lot of people that have that same feeling," Adler said.
Now, she focuses on her fond memories and her brother's wonderful life.
"He was a great person and I urge anybody if they are on the fence about getting the vaccine, do it in my brother's memory," she said.
She tells others about him and wanted to share his story hoping to save a life.
'He thought the vaccine was poison' - Woman pushes vaccines after brother's death
Adler and her four brothers grew up in Kenner. Just over a month ago, they had to say goodbye to one of those brothers, Alan Scott Lanoix.
Author: Erika Ferrando (WWL)
Published: 10:51 PM CDT July 15, 2021
Updated: 9:35 AM CDT July 16, 2021
CHALMETTE, La. — It's been just over a month since a husband and father lost his life to COVID-19. His sister is now sharing his story hoping it could save another life.
Lisa Adler owns AJ Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Chalmette. Business is finally picking back up.
"We're lucky we kept all our employees the whole time," Adler said.
Even the stress and uncertainty of keeping a business afloat during the pandemic is nothing compared to the deepest pain COVID can cause. It's a grief Adler is now facing.
"It's hard to believe that one decision can change your whole life," she said.
Adler and her four brothers grew up in Kenner. Just over a month ago, they had to say goodbye to one of those brothers, Alan Scott Lanoix.
"He was a great part of our family and we will always miss him," she said.
Lanoix was married to his high school sweetheart and had three sons.
"The kids had to bury their father on Father's day," Adler said.
Lanoix moved his family to Katy, TX after Katrina and was working at a manufacturing firm. Adler said the last time she spoke with him was in May. He called to tell her happy birthday. He also told her he was exposed to COVID-19 at work.
"I kept telling him 'you'll have immunity now and everything will be okay.' He told me that no matter what happens with his life, he was happy with his life and loved his family," Adler said.
Lanoix tested positive and spent 17 days in the hospital with several on a ventilator. His wife and sons all tested positive too. They survived, but Lanoix died June 9 at 54 years old.
"They did a video chat and let me at least say goodbye to him," Adler said.
Adler said she too was hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine but ultimately decided to get the shot in March.
"I was scared to get it myself, but you have to worry about what the consequences are," she said.
Her brother did not make the same choice.
"He thought the vaccine was poison and he was afraid of getting it and there's a lot of people that have that same feeling," Adler said.
Now, she focuses on her fond memories and her brother's wonderful life.
"He was a great person and I urge anybody if they are on the fence about getting the vaccine, do it in my brother's memory," she said.
She tells others about him and wanted to share his story hoping to save a life.
Talk radio host hospitalized with COVID regrets vaccine hesitancy, brother says
Talk radio host hospitalized with COVID regrets vaccine hesitancy, brother says
Health Jul 23, 2021 6:12 PM EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 now says his listeners should get vaccinated.
Phil Valentine’s brother, Mark Valentine, spoke at length on WWTN-FM in Nashville on Thursday about his brother’s condition, saying he is in a critical care unit on supplemental oxygen, but not on a ventilator. Phil Valentine has had an afternoon talk radio show on the station for years.
“First of all, he’s regretful that he wasn’t a more vocal advocate of the vaccination,” Mark Valentine said of his brother. “For those listening, I know if he were able to tell you this, he would tell you, ‘Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying about the politics. Quit worrying about all the conspiracy theories.'”
Mark Valentine took exception to the idea that Phil Valentine was anti-vaccination, labeling him “pro-information” and “pro-choice” on the vaccine but adding, “he got this one wrong.”
After Phil Valentine tested positive for COVID-19 but prior to his hospitalization, he told his listeners to consider, “If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it?”
If so, he advised them to get vaccinated. He said he made the decision not to get vaccinated because he thought he probably wouldn’t die.
Phil Valentine also said that he was “taking vitamin D like crazy” and had found a doctor who agreed to prescribe ivermectin, a drug primarily used to treat parasites in animals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns against taking ivermectin for COVID-19, advising that it is not an anti-viral drug and can be dangerous. With regards to vitamin D, the National Institutes of Health says, “There is insufficient evidence to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin D for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.”
Mark Valentine said he got vaccinated against COVID-19 after his brother became ill. Realizing that he has a family he is responsible for, he said not getting vaccinated “is just a selfish position to have, and, absent any concrete evidence to the contrary in terms of side effects and negative effects of the vaccine, I have a duty to do that.”
Mark Valentine’s comments came the same day Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee defended his administration’s firing of the state’s vaccination chief and rollback of outreach for childhood vaccines, both of which sparked national scrutiny over Tennessee’s inoculation efforts against COVID-19.
Former state vaccine chief Michelle Fiscus has repeatedly said she was terminated to appease some GOP lawmakers who were outraged over state outreach for COVID-19 vaccinations to minors. Some lawmakers even threatened to dissolve the Health Department over the marketing.
Tennessee continues to have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country even as cases are rising. As of Thursday, 12,666 people in Tennessee had died from COVID-19.
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Kyle C. Barker
Migos VERZUZ Mahalia Jackson
But she survived without having to inject some vaccine into her body
*Grabs new oxygen tank from the basement*