My wife died of COVID. Unvaccinated nursing center workers could’ve spared me this pain.
I married a Texas girl 51 years ago. She was still a girl to me when she died of COVID on Aug. 27.
A few years after we married she had breast cancer. Lymph node removal left her with swelling in one arm that required constant monitoring lest it become infected, and it tied her to a pneumatic pump hours a day to reduce swelling and chance of infection. But that didn’t stop her. She worked at my side as we renovated our first home. She provided day care for the granddaughter who lived two houses away. She loved all kinds of word games. She loved painting, acted in amateur theater, and was an avid Red Hat Lady.
We moved to North Carolina in 2016 and she provided the brains behind decorating our new home. She had stomach surgery in early 2019, but returned home a few weeks later. Her health began to deteriorate later that year and it became more difficult for her to leave the house. When COVID-19 began to spread neither of us wanted to risk her health more than was necessary anyway.
Though it was difficult for her to get to the vaccination site, she received both doses of the COVID vaccine in early 2021. In March, she developed pneumonia (vaccinations against it notwithstanding), went into the hospital, and then to a nursing facility to recover.
In April we celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary there. She was still weak, but was always a fighter who rarely complained.
I usually spent 4 to 5 hours a day with her, set up her lymphedema pump, and helped with small things the staff was sometimes too busy to address. I never heard her say a rude or inconsiderate thing during the entire time she was in the nursing facility. Typically, she would express concern for me and the toll that spending time with her might be taking.
On Aug. 26 Anne tested positive for COVID; I tested negative.
The vaccination rate of staff in N.C. nursing facilities is about 54%. I do not believe all of Anne’s caregivers were fully vaccinated. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says 80% of nursing facility residents are vaccinated nationwide, but just 60% of staff are.
I visited Anne every day, and the loss of my wife leaves me with many questions: Why do facility owners allow unvaccinated caregivers to work with our most vulnerable population? How are caregivers and owners able to live with the guilt and likelihood that they caused Anne to be infected and die? Why do local, state and federal governments allow this to occur?
The nagging question: What will it take to convince healthcare workers to be vaccinated — and facility owners to require it?
It’s too late to save the woman who was the light of my life and who fought so courageously against her health problems. Please consider the pain you have caused her and me, the pain you can spare others, and the guilt you can spare yourselves.
Please, if you provide health care, get vaccinated immediately, or find another job that does not put vulnerable people at risk of sickness and death. If you own or operate a healthcare facility, make vaccination a condition of employment.