Tragedy has been all too familiar during the COVID-19 pandemic for Michigan resident Tara Barber and her family.
Barber’s late husband Tom was a resident at Ann Arbor’s Glacier Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center. There he was recovering from complications sustained after an operation on his foot that required 24/7 care. During his February through April stay at Glacier Hills, COVID-19 hit Michigan at an alarming rate, causing Governor Whitmer to sign Executive Order 2020-06 temporarily restricting any entry to healthcare facilities for patient visitors.
Barber understood the need for the Executive Order, and considered it the safest possible route for her husband’s recovery. During the lockdown at the facility Tom only left one time for a necessary visit to his orthopedic surgeon. All parties involved in the transport to and from the appointment, and at the appointment were wearing masks and gloves. However, a few weeks later Tom began to get sick with symptoms similar to COVID-19.
After receiving a chest X-ray, he was suspected to have a form of pneumonia and treated for that pneumonia. On April 3, Tom’s worsening symptoms led him to be hospitalized, and one day after his hospitalization, Tom passed away.
After his sudden death, Barber was disheartened to learn that her husband had in fact contracted COVID-19. She shared with The Gander “He [Tom] was being kept in a supposedly safe place, treated by people who supposedly understood sterile precautions and were taking those precautions, and he was still infected and he still died. So I know how insidiously pervasive this virus is and how infectious it is, because I watched Tom’s journey and it still got him.”
The Barber’s tragic story is shared by other families in Michigan too, faced with unthinkable decisions during the pandemic. There are still so many unknowns about the spread and long term effects of this virus. Many have had to make the painful decision about whether to visit loved ones and risk spreading COVID-19 or only communicating through phone or video call.
Read the Barber’s full story on The Gander here.
