For Those We Lost: COVID Stories

Episode 24. Joanie in Arizona

In this episode, I will be talking with Joanie in Colorado. Joanie lost her son, Alexander Hanson-Bain, on February 7, 2020. Alex developed a cough and told his mom he'd be fine, but within a week of falling ill, he'd passed away. There were only early rumblings of the "coronavirus" when Alex died, but Joanie spoke to his doctors and hindsight points COVID as his cause of death. She will never have all the answers, but Joanie has found support in her faith and the COVID community. Alex survived cancer as a child and in this episode, you can tell that Joanie had a special bond with Alex. 

Joanie mentions her Instagram account where she posts about her grief journey.  That link is: https://www.instagram.com/qnckgrl_mypostalexjourney/

Rami's Heart COVID-19 Memorial
InAmerica Flags installation in Washington , DC

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on March 9, 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 23. Kim in Georgia

In this episode, I will be talking with Kim in Georgia. Kim lost her husband, Mike, on June 10, 2021. Mike battled COVID for seven weeks and was on a ventilator for a time and then taken off and eventually had to be re-intubated. When he was off the ventilator the first time, Mike asked Kim if he died and went to heaven. He told her he visited heaven and he saw his grandparents, his parents and her grandparents and he even told her of a meeting a grandchild that hadn't been conceived yet. She learned of that new grandchild after Miked died.

The story Kim tells of Mike's life and his visit to heaven and his own knowing that he was going to die is extremely emotional and I hope it can provide everyone listening with some hope and peace. Kim told me after we recorded that she will never find another love like Mike. He was her one, but she also said that she is healing and that beauty can come from the ashes.

InAmerica Flags installation

Rami's Heart COVID-19 Memorial

The Frontline Families Fund information, though the application period ended on December 31, 2021

Information on FEMA's funeral assistance

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on January 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 22. Bianca in California

In this episode, I will be talking with Bianca in California. Bianca lost her father, Anthony Faddis, to COVID in April 29, 2021. In episode 13, Nora in California told the story of losing her dad on April 29, 2021 and how on the same day her father-in-law also passed away from COVID. Bianca is Nora's sister-in-law and this episode is Bianca's story of losing her father. Bianca's dad faced a lot of trials in his life, including being homeless for a time, but he always kept his sense of humor. In the years before the pandemic he found stability in rural northern California. Bianca takes so much care in talking about her relationship with her dad and why she feels his loss to acutely. She also talks about the legal struggles she has trying to find a lawyer to investigate her father's death and the days leading up to it.

Legal Match

Episode 13: Nora in California

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on January 17, 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 21. Allison in Maryland

In this episode, I will be talking with Allison in Maryland. Allison lost her parents to COVID in the summer of 2020. Her mom Terry passed away on July 30 and her father Kenneth passed away just five days later on August 4. Allison lives in Maryland and her parents lived in South Carolina, in the family home that Allison grew up in. Her parents had their own health issues, her dad had just been diagnosed with dementia and they had medical visits they needed to go out for. Allison talks about her grief and her regrets at how her parents died, but she's also coping by sharing her story with others. She is a volunteer through the Yellow Heart Memorial and she was a volunteer at the In America Flags installation last fall in Washington DC.

Yellow heart memorial

The In America flags that were in Washington, DC in September 2021

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on January 7, 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 20. Laura in Missouri

In this episode, I talk with Laura in Missouri. Laura lost her mom to COVID in October 2021. Laura reached out to me via email and she said she wanted to tell her mom's story to share the humanity behind the pandemic. Laura's mom, Julie Yepsen, was a wife for over 40 years, she was a mother and she was Grandma Julie to her six grandkids. She was a giving, caring human and she died of COVID during a time in our history when her choices could be questioned. This episode is Laura's beautiful tribute to her mother and also a loving way for her to reach out to others who might be grieving alone.

When we recorded this episode and in the weeks before it was live, thousands upon thousands of people died of COVID. Each one of them had a family who loves them and grieves their loss. And those family members are now part of our COVID grief community. I don't want them to grieve in isolation. Laura decided to share her mother's story rather than grieve quietly and feeling alone. 

I've included some links on COVID grief and isolation. I've also included the links to information on the national movement to make a COVID memorial day a reality. And finally a link to the bladder disease Laura's mom had.

The Atlantic article on secret grief

An NPR article on stigmatized COVID grief

COVID Memorial Day information

Interstitial Cystitis

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on February 16, 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 19. Jerri in West Virginia

In this episode, I talk with Jerri in West Virginia. Jerri lost her husband, James, to COVID pneumonia on January 1, 2021 and just six weeks later she lost her mother-in-law also to COVID. Jerri has two girls and they lost their dad and their grandma within six week of each other. Jerri's husband James was a retired marine and was a police officer in their small town and her story of how the police honored James is moving. As Jerri says, James was a home town hero and everybody knew him. Even the people he'd arrested sent their condolences. 

Jerri became active in the COVID advocacy community with COVID survivors for Change. She was also featured on Yahoo news, CBS news and the Stolen Goodbyes podcast. Currently, Jerri is an admin of a COVID young widows FB group so if you listen to this episode and you are a young COVID widow, Jerri can help. Finally, I've included a link to the Comfort Zone grief camp her girls attended last summer. 

Jerri on Yahoo News

Jerri on MSN

Jerri on CBS News WRGB Albany

Jerri's Stolen Goodbyes podcast episode 

The Young Widows and Widowers of COVID-19 Facebook group

Comfort Zone Camp

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on December 30, 2021. Just a couple of days before the one year anniversary of James's passing. 

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 18. Sara in Pennsylvania

In this episode, I will be talking with Sara in Pennsylvania. Sara and her family were exposed to H1N1 years ago and since then, they have been navigating complex medical auto immune issues. Because of this, Sara and her husband had their eye on the news when word of what we now call COVID19 first started popping up in Wuhan, China. Sara and her family decided to "close their doors" a few weeks before the United States, but she also acknowledged that with her family's immune compromised status, she may lose people she loved. Her parents got COVID in November of 2020 and her father passed away on December 2, 2020.

Sara is an amazing storyteller and she tell she family's story so beautifully. The love she has for her father shines through in each word. Sara also talks about the various medical issues her family faces now and the issues her father overcame during his life.

Information on Churg-Strauss syndrome,  and if you'd like to make a donation in her father's name, his name is Andy Rotman-Zaid.

Information on POTS Syndrome

Right to Health Action

Information on Long COVID and a list of symptoms

People's Pandemic Prevention Plan

Yellow Heart Memorial

Sara mentioned on Rachel Maddow

COVID cross stitch memorial

Dysautonomia Foundation 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on December 27, 2021. 

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 17. Lisa in Nashville

In this episode, I will be talking with Lisa in Nashville. She relocated to Nashville from New York City in late 2019 to help her dad as he recovered from a serious illness. Lisa lived in New York City on and off for over 10 years to be near her significant other, Ben. Ben was a MTA train conductor in New York City transit authority for 22 years and he passed away of COVID on April 28, 2020, just a day after his birthday. Ben was also just one of two Orthodox Jewish subway conductors in the MTA system. He was an active member of his Brooklyn community, his Jewish community and the world of train memorabilia and knowledge.

As Lisa tells their story, you understand their relationship, why she was in Nashville and how their devotion to the Jewish faith influenced the decisions they both made and how Lisa is working through Ben's loss. Like many of us, she and Ben were not together when he died. 

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on December 2, 2021.

Below are just some of the online articles on Ben and the other MTA workers who have passed away. One memorial website includes a poem called Travels Far by Tracy K. Smith. It goes like this:

What you gave—
brief tokens of regard,
soft words uttered
barely heard,
the smile glimpsed
from a passing car.

Through stations
and years, through
the veined chambers
of a stranger’s heart—
what you gave
travels far.

Here is a link to that poem: https://new.mta.info/covid-memorial

Here is a selection of the news articles about Ben.

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-veteran-mta-conductor-dies-20200429-ipwcbpl5lbc35htae7klbb4gta-story.html

https://brooklynreporter.com/2020/04/mta-conductor-ben-schaeffer-dies-from-covid-19/

http://www.twulocal100.org/story/conductor-ben-schaeffer-be-honored-ny-transit-museum-historical-program-tuesday

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 16. Cathy in Houston

In this episode I'm joined by Cathy in Houston, Texas. Cathy lost her father, Steve Wright, to COVID on January 4, 2021. Cathy talks about her dad and how much time their family spent with him, in part because it was their way to be together, but also because Cathy lost her mom in January 2015 to cancer. After that loss, her dad wanted to be "extra hands" and spent an immeasurable amount of time with his grandkids and family. The is a beautiful episode full of love, heartbreak and synchronicities.

Information on artist Joni Zavitsanos and her Living Icons art exhibit in Houston, Texas can be found here: https://jonizavitsanos.com/joni-zavitsanos-living-icons-covid-19-victim-memorial-exhibit-opens-october-16/

Information on Angel Flights can be found here: https://www.angelflightsc.org/. If you would like to make a donation in honor of Steve Wright, you can do that here: https://4agc.com/donation_pages/35399d99-aef5-4f20-8948-09a75e7dd6cd

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on November 9, 2021. 

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 15. Mary & Tammy in West Virginia

In this episode, I'm joined by mother and daughter, Mary and Tammy from West Virginia. Tammy reached out to me on behalf of her mother, Mary. Tammy told me that her mom had a lot of anger about losing her husband to COVID. Mary and her husband, Bob, were married for almost 57 years when he passed away in October of 2020. Tammy felt that if her mom shared her story, and her love for her husband, it would help her heal. I had the pleasure of speaking to this lovely mother daughter duo together and together they share their story of loss and how they are healing and moving forward.

The In America flags that were in Washington, CD in September 2021 can be viewed here: https://www.inamericaflags.org/

For context on this interview and the ever-changing pandemic, we recorded this episode on October 25, 2021. 

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.