As the world enters its third year fighting against the SARS-CoCV-2 virus, Aiken County’s hospital held a community commemorative event to share a message of hope.
The hospital created a reflection wall. A place for people to hang a blue badge if they have been personally affected and a yellow badge in remembrance of someone they lost.
Several dozen people gathered under a tent at the pond in front of the medical facility for words of encouragement from community leaders.
Rev. Paul Bush, Senior Pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, said faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not yet seen.
“We still stand together today in the unity of hope. Hope for a better you, hope for a better me, hope for a better day, a better month, a better year,” he said. “Hope that regardless of how good or bad things are, that they will get better. Hope that no matter what has happened or will happen to me or to you that we will make it.”
[adrotate banner=”51″]
Aiken City Councilwoman Gail Diggs brought a story of personal loss. In April 2020 she lost her cousin, Earl. He was the eighth member of Fire Department of New York to die from COVID-19. Two weeks later, his father died.
“This virus has left many empty chairs, at tables in so many households,” she began. “I cannot help but wonder where we would be in this pandemic today. If we all followed CDC guidelines faithfully. If we didn’t minimize the severity of this virus and not just see it as a bad cold or hoax, because hoaxes don’t kill 800,000 plus people. If we could all accept the real facts, and not waste valuable time and energy, creating our own theories, and promoting remedies, that didn’t work. If we saw it as the pandemic it would become, and not waste our time creating and swearing by our own theories.”
The first hint of what was to come was reports of patients in Wuhan, China experiencing shortness of breath and fever. That was Dec. 12, 2019.
On Jan. 9, 2020, the World Health Organization announced the illness was a novel coronavirus, similar to SARS.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the first U.S. case of novel coronavirus on Jan. 20.
It was March 11 when the word pandemic became part of the lexicon for people worldwide.
The Augusta area had its first case diagnosed in mid-March, and first death on March 27.
Jim O’Loughlin, CEO of Aiken Regional Medical Centers, said they began planning the event two months ago.
“We did not know when we planned this that would be in the middle of another surge. But the fact that we are, may meet make it even more important, because I think everybody needs some resilience. And just keep pushing forward,” he said. “I know this has been said so many times over that we’ll get through this together. Now we’re facing another surge, so it’s just a hope in the fact that we will persevere through this.”
He said the timing was right to share a message of hope and take time to reflect. It was also an opportunity to honor essential workers who have worked tirelessly for two years.
On Jan. 7, Aiken Regional Medical Centers had confirmed 2,323 cases of COVID-19 with 24 currently being cared for in the hospital. There had also been 253 deaths.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
