For Those We Lost: COVID Stories

Episode 32. Kathryn in California

In this episode, I will be talking with Kathryn in California. Kathryn lost her mom, Dianne Wise, on December 29, 2020 in Toronto, Canada. Kathryn talks about saying goodbye over a video screen and how important it was for her to get back to Canada to see her family and grieve with them. What touched me most in this episode is the grief Kathryn has for her mom not visiting her in the summer of 2020. They weighed the risks at the time not knowing her mom would pass away. Kathryn also talks about how Zoom, even now, brings her memories of losing her mom remotely.

McLain's Magazine 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on May 25, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Bonus Episode. One Year anniversary of the Rami's Heart permanent memorial grand opening

Welcome to another bonus episode where I'll be talking to Rima. She was on episode 6 and she is the wonderful human being who founded the Rami's Heart COVID 19 Memorial on the beach in New Jersey. When I interviewed Rima last year, she was in the process of moving the beach hearts and in this episode we talk about what has been going on with Rima and the memorial since it found a permanent home at Allair Community Farm in Wall Township, New Jersey.

The grand opening was on September 17, 2021 and this episode celebrates the one year anniversary of the memorial.

Episode 6: Rima in New Jersey

Rami's Heart COVID Memorial

Link to add a loved one's name to the Rami's Heart Memorial

Allaire Community Farm

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on August 23, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 31. Christina in Arizona

In this episode, I am talking with Christina in Arizona. Christina lost her mother, Catherine Rodriquez, to COVID on June 22, 2020 and she and I have a lot of similarities in our stories. Her mother had early onset Alzheimer's. My mother had Alzheimer's from a traumatic brain injury. We were both locked out of their long term care facilities and our mothers died alone. Christina's story is so heartbreaking because she had so little communication from the assisted living facility where her mother was.

Christina has found a grief support family in her volunteer work with the organization Marked by COVID and she is the Arizona lead for that nonprofit. She also mentions the Million Trees Project and our hope for a national COVID memorial. Here are all those links. 

Marked by COVID
Million trees project
National COVID memorial 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on May 24, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 30. Laci in Texas

In this episode, I will be talking with Laci in Texas. Laci lost her dad, Robert Weikert, on November 23, 2021. She and her sisters were able to be with him in the hospital while he was there and he had family surrounding him when he passed away. Laci talks about how even though she's grateful, that came with it's own traumas. She also talks about how she is healing, how her family is healing and the ways she is honoring her dad's memory.

On May 11, Laci's story was featured on the COVID Survivors for Change website. And Laci also talks about the incredible support she received from the Facebook support groups for friends and family who have lost someone to COVID. 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on May 13, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 29. Trish in Pennsylvania

In this episode, I will be talking with Trish in Pennsylvania. Trish lost her dad, Jim, her papa bear, on January 4, 2021. A few weeks after he passed away, Trish was testifying before her state congress and her action keeps going. She is the Yellow Heart Memorial Pennsylvania chapter leader and she shares her dad's story as often as she can.

Here are the links to websites and groups we talked about in this show:

Faces of COVID Victims
The book It's Ok That You're Not OK
The book Trish read to her dad is called Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan
COVID Survivors for Change
Yellow Heart Memorial

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on May 11, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Year One Update

This show launched one year ago today. In this short bonus episode, I talk about how I got the idea to start this show, a little bit about each guest this year and how you can help the show grow.

Here are the links I talk about:

Stolen Goodbyes podcast
Facebook COVID-19 Loss Support for Family & Friends 
Cathy's Instagram
Joanie's Instagram

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 29. Amberly in Missouri

In this episode, I will be talking with Amberly in Missouri. Amberly lost her grandfather, Raymond, to COVID on December 28, 2020. This is Amberly's first time talking about her grandfather and his death and how it has changed her life. Amberly spent so much time with her grandparents while she was growing up and her grandpa was an important father figure in her life. She was with him at the very end and now she is taking care of her grandma as her life changes and her own health ebbs and flows. Listening to Amberly talk about her grandparents and her love for them is so moving.

The song that plays in Amberly's car when she first starts it up and connects her phone is called White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation by Marty Robbins. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8MnvyAi6I

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on April 29, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 27. Kasandra on Long Island

In this episode, I will be talking with Kasandra on Long Island. Kasandra lost her brother, Louis, to COVID on March 31, 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic and she talks about feeling very stuck in 2020. She feels that with the world "moving on" everyone has forgotten about those we've lost and those who are still sick and dying even now. Kasandra is vocal on Twitter and is a great source of support on the Facebook COVID support groups. She also shares her brother's story everywhere she can.

In this episode, she talks about a lot of different groups. She also mentions her brother's Twitter account, frozen in time. Here are all those links.

Louis's Twitter account
Kasandra's Twitter
Rami's Heart COVID 19 Memorial
Marked by COVID
Survivor Corps

If you search on Facebook, you can hopefully find these group listed below. You do have to wade through a lot of Facebook COVID warnings and a lot of links they put at the top of the search results, but if you are persistent you can find these groups.  

COVID-19 Loss Support for Family & Friends
Touched by COVID-19
I lost my loved one(s) to COVID-19 
Sibling Grief - The loss of a Sister or Brother

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on April 21, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 26. Deidre in Oklahoma

In this episode, I will be talking with Deidre in Oklahoma. Deidre lost her parents to COVID just 16 days apart. Her stepfather, Asa died on December 27, 2020 and her mom, Catherine passed away on January 13, 2021. She was able to be with both of her parents when they passed away and talks a lot about the difficulties of losing them and how isolated she felt. When we finished recording, Deidre sent me a beautiful email about her parents and all the things she thought to say afterward. I've included that email text below.

Her parents obituaries:
Catherine Lewis Douglas
Asa Bartlett Douglas

In America flags
COVID Survivors for Change even in Wash DC
Oklahoma Yellow Heart Memorial and YHM in general
Rami's Heart 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on April 12, 2022.

---

MY MOM was the best Mom ever. My best friend. She could never be serious for too long, because she’d crack up laughing at herself. Her giggle was so contagious and she was one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known. She connected deeply with people - the gift of gab with a special something extra that made her unforgettable. 

MY STEPDAD was a oil man by trade at the end, but foremost and originally he was an artist. I helped him and my mom run a screen printing shop together for awhile when I was a teenager… doing T-shirts, promotional items and signs. He always claimed me as his own. He didn’t have to, but he did. I’ll always be grateful for that.

MOURNING THEM both has been difficult. Going through their clothes was probably one of the hardest sorting tasks. I knew all of their clothes. Remembered what they looked like in each outfit and item. I couldn’t help but hug some of the outfits as they hung from the hanger in the closet. I suppose it was a way to get one last semblance of their arms around me. There will always be a hole in my life where they should be, where their stories should have continued.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. 

Episode 25. Debra in Florida

In this episode, I will be talking with Debra in Florida. Debra lost her brother, Bobby, to COVID on April 29, 2020. Bobby was born intellectually disabled and so even though he was 55 when he passed away, Debra describes him as very much a big kid. He had a caring nature and lived in the moment. Debra misses him so deeply and you can feel her love for her brother as she talks about him.

Debra's grief over losing Bobby is profound and after some dark months, she found a COVID support group and that led her to the Yellow Heart Memorial. Debra heads up the Florida chapter of the Yellow Heart Memorial and has a physical memorial of names at the Crystal River mall. You can submit your loved one's name using the link below. Debra also founded a non-profit called Bobby's Bikes where they give away bikes to kids. Bobby was a generous soul and Debra is carrying on his giving spirit.

Yellow Heart Memorial main site

Yellow Heart Memorial Crystal River, Florida

Google form to share a name with the Florida YHM
 
Bobby's Bikes
 
Savannah Smiles Foundation

COVID Survivors for Change

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on March 15, 2022.

Support the show

If you've lost a loved one to COVID and would like to share your story on the show, please send me an email.  My email address is [email protected]. Or go to the website forthosewelostpodcast.com and click on contact button and you can reach me that way as well.

This show won't ever have a paid members area or episodes you have to pay to listen to, but there are expenses with hosting a podcast. If you would like to help, please support the show.

All episodes are written and produced by me and all music is used under the protection of fair use.

Our social media accounts can be found at:

Instagram
Twitter   
Facebook
YouTube (work in progress for the captions)

Until next time!

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.