Regret is a sad thing, especially when the source of the regret is connected to a serious illness that could easily have been prevented.
This week a patient at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) facing serious illness from COVID-19, was determined to record a message out to those who have remained unvaccinated. Her message, delivered from the HRRMC Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is both timely and prescient because she is unvaccinated.
“She was determined,” said HRRMC Marketing Director Allison Gergley. “Our IT team added subtitles to it, as the patient is very soft-spoken and not able to breathe/speak loudly, as well as there being background noise from our negative pressure room, making it difficult to hear. But she wanted people to know.”
The video is live on the HRRMC Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Heartoftherockies/videos/425608309084905/
Dr. Erica Gelgand introduced the patient, noting that at this point she had been in the ICU for four days and was very upset with herself for not getting the vaccine.
“I feel absolutely awful. I can’t breathe. I don’t know what to do to make people see, it’s crazy,” says the patient, speaking from her ICU bed. “I don’t understand something as simple as a shot, people won’t get. I could be out hunting, going to dinner, playing, instead, I’m just …I’m knocked down. For such a simple thing — just get the vaccine.’
Talking of the COVID ordeal, she added, breathing laboriously, “It’s overwhelming — I don’t know what to do to make people see … Get the vaccine. Don’t fight it.”
She was complimentary of the care she is receiving at HRRMC, saying, “I’ve never met a better group of people – you all are wonderful…. you all have homes and families and you’re here taking care of me.”
A very moving video. If only everyone who thinks they don’t need to be vaccinated could be in this woman’s place, or that of her worried family, they might come to the conclusion these anti-vax ‘myths’ are just that, and such ignorant attitudes aren’t worth risking your life or the life of someone close to you. It’s a global pandemic that has infected tens of millions in this country alone and killed nearly 750,000 needlessly. Listen to her and the medical professionals and get the free vaccine!