To experience loss is heavy. It comes in stages and it’s often uncharted territory as every loss is different. As a news reporter I’ve covered a lot of loss. Earlier this year in March we marked one year of COVID-19 and those lives taken from us.
This is why culminating the year with these stories of survival is poignant. When many of those who experienced a COVID hospitalization told me: “I was on my deathbed.”
"I got close to dying, but I'm still here," ER nurse Danny Plata who fought and battled COVID-19 said.
So when we do get the hope that someone can survive. That feeling overpowers all.
It becomes a true miracle because when we know what it feels like to experience the loss, we know there is truly no greater gift than survival.
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As Rosario Rodriguez described: "Every single day, as soon as I woke up in the morning, I would say to myself, 'I'm not going to make it today,' and at night, 'Oh, I did it.' Then prayed for the next day and the next day," said COVID-19 survivor Rodriguez.
The lessons learned from these survivors are paramount. It reminds us of how trivial it is when something doesn’t turn out exactly how we wanted or our plans don’t go according to the plan. Truly the majority of problems society faces are not life or death. So when you encompass all that matters and take stock in what’s actually valuable, it’s beyond words what the chance of survival can do. The opportunity to live is treated in such high regard.
These survivors have much more in common than just their diagnosis. They share resilience, awareness and kindness. Their second chance should be all of our reminders to truly relish the good moments, people and love in our lives.
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“You realize when you're in the situation how good we have it,” said COVID-19 survivor Hector Reynoso. “That it’s just a blessing to be able to get up every day in the morning and say, 'You know what? I'm here, thank God that I'm awake and he gave me another opportunity today,' and you just take it and realize that you are being blessed all the time.”
The list of our survivors are endless. I thank them for inspiring me and our community.
