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On a Tuesday, you wouldn’t wake up. By Saturday, you joined your son, siblings, family and friends with peace on your face. We will miss your gentle eyes, and hard head. We Love you. 7-18-43 ~ 5-2-20

My mom died at the age of 63 on Easter Sunday of Covid. She was an essential worker at a nursing home where she contracted the deadly virus. She was in so much pain when she could no longer bear it she went to the hospital where she would die one day later. My mom died alone in her hospital room as me and my dad watched through a glass window. I never got to give my mom one last kiss and my family never got to say goodbye.

My mother was a iron woman, literally the strongest person I knew. She was a nurse for 46 years and also a army veteran . She spent her life caring for others and helping the disinfranchised. Her passion was to help women when they got out prison to restart their lives on the right track . She was our family historian and the glue to our family . She left big shoes to fill and we will miss her tremendously . She contracted Covid and fought 29 days she succumbed to renal failure after going into septic shock on a ventilator on Aug . 29th 2020

My mom caught Covid at the hospital during a chemo treatment and gave it to my dad. They were both in the hospital for two weeks in two separate rooms side by side. They died two days apart. My mom was a teacher for 37 years and my dad own a restaurant and was on the city council and a mayor of Madison, Ne for 16 years. They were both very giving and loving to their families and community. They are deeply missed by everyone who knew them.

My husband, Juan Andres Ollarvide was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, at Mount Sinai in New York on December 12, 2019. He had begun targeted chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering on January 20, 2020, with an incredible response to his first and successive rounds of treatment. His only side effect was slight fatigue and he was even working remotely from New York doing engineering CAD design for his clients. At the beginning of March, we visited friends and family in Florida during a break between treatment rounds. Everyone was surprised at how great he looked. He was kicking cancer’s ass and looking forward to doing many more things in his life. On April 1st, he got a fever and on April 2nd he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He was transported by EMS to Harlem Hospital on April 8th and on April 20th he left us. I was fortunate enough to be able to go in and see him twice. I guess they bent the rules at Harlem Hospital. He was in an induced coma both times but I know that he heard me the last time because some tears rolled out of the side of his left eye and he blinked. Juan was a huge jokester who loved making people laugh and lit up every room he entered. He was the guy everyone remembered in a good kind of way. On December 18, 2021, our only child will be getting married and he won’t be there to walk her down the aisle. We miss him every day, but we know that he is alright.

My mom died from Covid. Only 70 yrs old she was a beautiful vibrant young 70 yr old full of life. I am so heartbroken.

My 65-year-old brother, Johnny, went to the hospital in early March for extensive difficult surgeries lasting many hours. He was sent to a sub-acute Rehab Center in a nursing home for a month of Physical and Occupational Therapy and around-the-clock intravenous antibiotics. He persevered through a great deal of pain, managing it all well. I have been a Physical Therapist since 1975 and his Rehab team was very impressed with Johnny’s hard work and dedication to his program. Johnny was always a strong man with great determination. Unfortunately he got the Covid-19 virus at the nursing home. For 10 days it was mild. I was ecstatic when I found out he did so well and was to be discharged home in a few days. Then I called his room and was told he had double pneumonia and was being sent to the hospital. When I called his room the next day, no one could tell me why he was not there. After many calls, I finally was told he was on life support. No had the time to call me. What a shock! After 6 days on the ventilator, he also had kidney failure, liver and heart problems, and most likely other organ damage. It was as if he was ambushed by a machine gun that tore through his organs. After talking to several doctors, my 90-year-old mother and I concluded his situation was hopeless and made the heart breaking decision to take Johnny off the ventilator so that his last breath could be his own and he did not have to continue to suffer. I was unable to visit my brother for one and a half months due to Covid-19. We had to say goodbye via Face time while he was in an induced coma. We could not be with him or have a wake or funeral. Later they lost his body and I had to track him so I could get him to the Funeral Home. My mother and I are still suffering from such a tragic loss. No one should die like this and no family should have to go through this. My brother could have lived another fifteen years or so. Now my mother has had to outlive her child. My mom and I are totally convinced it did not have to be this way. Our government did not protect my brother and all the others. Many – including healthcare workers should still be here. Johnny, rest in peace and until we meet again, you are always in my heart and soul. I love you.

COVID-19 impacted us tremendously. Because of the virus and being diabetic I developed blood clots requiring my left foot to be amputated and 5 heart stents. My entire life has been changed forever. Cover up and stay safe it’s no joke. I nearly died. Thank you for this amazing help during the holidays it really is a blessing!

I was intubated/extubated for 28 days in June. I was put in a medically induced coma and paralyzed. I suffered septic shock, anxiety & depression with 20% chance to survive. I had to learn to walk and learn to be without my oxygen lines. I’m scared for life this virus nearly killed me. I’m a daycare owner and have been closed since May when I got sick. Our entire life has been impacted but with faith we survive each day.

My mother moved me to America from Ukraine 9 years ago to give me a better life. We were very close. I came to see her in Illinois a few times a month, we always called each other. When she starting having a fever I called all hospitals and doctors I could think of. Everyone kept saying to sit at home and take Tylenol. When she started having trouble to breathe she went to emergency room and they detected pneumonia and admitted her to ICU. She was starting to get better when they suddenly put her on the ventilator and put her in a coma without letting me talk to her first. I called day and night to check on her and asked to try putting her on her stomach, but they didn’t. For a week all nurses and doctors kept giving me different information and the ventilator caused her lungs to collapse. While they were trying to work on her lung, they lost her pulse and she was gone forever. She had a house, 2 pets, a job, and many friends that loved her. She was only 57 and healthy. Now I am alone.