Claim OwnershipFor Those We Lost: COVID Stories
Subscribed: 5Played: 80
Subscribe
© 2025 For Those We Lost: COVID Stories
Description
In this podcast, people share their stories of losing a loved one to COVID. Each episode is one person's story of losing someone they love. In these long-form interviews, we talk about grief, loss, the pandemic, healing and taking action. I am your host, Jennifer Sullivan, and I lost my mom to COVID in August 2020. I had no control over what happened and it wrecked me. This podcast is my hope, my light at the end of the tunnel, and my way of making sure that no one ever forgets about those we lost to COVID.
54 Episodes
Reverse
Episode 51. Jennifer in Oregon Since this is the last episode of season 2 and I am putting this podcast in a hiatus (possibly permanently) I wanted to tell my mom's story. Today we will be talking about my mom, Bobbie Lee, and she passed away on August 24, 2020. My mom had Alzheimer's from a Traumatic Brain Injury and she'd been in a memory care since October 2018. She was a feisty lady and general good health, despite the Alzheimer's, when her memory care was shut down to visitors due to CO...
Episode 50. Elena and Yvette in Texas In this episode, I will be talking with Yvette and Elena. They lost their mother, Aurora Poblano, to COVID on January 23, 2021. Their mother Aurora lived in Pasadena, Texas with Elena. Yvette reached out to me over a year ago, but they've waited to talk about their mom until they could do it together. One important thing to know is that their mom was diagnosed with Cerebellar Degeneration when she was 35 years old. It is a genetic disorder that is inher...
Episode 49. Angee in Missouri In this episode, I will be talking with Angee in Missouri. Angee lost her mom, Gloria, to Covid on February 17, 2021. Angee not only feels the grief of losing her mom, but she also deeply feels the guilt of knowing that she brought the virus home to her mom. We talk a lot about grief and guilt and healing in this episode. Angee mentions the Yellow Heart Memorial and how connecting with others has helped her. We also talk briefly about the book, Option B, by Sh...
Episode 48. Brian in Illinois I recorded this episode with Brian in Illinois in April 2022 and it was originally supposed to be episode 28. But Brian didn't send me any photos of his mom or him and I put this show on hold. With this podcast headed into a hiatus (more on that below), I decided to air this show and I went through Brian's YouTube channel and pulled some still images from his videos and he did send me some beautiful photos a couple of weeks ago. Brian lost his mom in June of 2...
In this episode, I will be talking with Jessica in New Jersey. Jessica lost her dad, Xavier, to Covid on January 18, 2021. When she reached out to me, Jessica told me that she had not really talked about her dad and told his story in detail like this. She said she'd put it in a box but now she was ready to share. Jessica tells her dad's story and also talks about how she is healing and the things she misses the most about him. She mentions Hannah's Faces of COVID Victims drawings and the Rami...
Episode 46. Patty in Connecticut In this episode, I will be talking with Patty in Connecticut. Patty lost her husband, Frank, to Covid on April 22, 2020. He was 52 years old when he died and their wedding anniversary was just a few days after he passed away. In this show Patty talks about her regrets and how much she struggled with not being able to be in the hospital with her husband. She also talks about how she and her children honor Frank by telling his story and keeping his memory alive...
Episode 45. Christina in California In this episode, I will be talking with Christina in California. Christina lost her dad, Raul, her brother, Raul Jr and her sister, Margie, to COVID all in January 2021. Christina was a nurse at the hospital where her family was and so she was able to see her family members and check in on them at a time when most family was not allowed in the hospitals. She recognizes the blessing this was, but also talks about the things that haunt her. Christina shares ...
Episode 44. Lauren in New York In this episode, I will be talking with Lauren in New York. Lauren lost her dad, Anthony Granchelli to COVID on January 19, 2022. Lauren was on almost every call from the hospital while her dad was there and requested his medical records, which she had with her during this recording. In this episode she goes through the day-to-day of her dad's hospitalization. She also talks about her grief and how she is experiencing her Covid loss in 2022 versus how many peop...
Episode 43. Keesha in Georgia In this episode, I will be talking with Keesha in Georgia. Keesha lost her mom, Rita Delores Coleman, to COVID on January 13, 2022. Keesha weaves such a beautiful tribute to her mom in this show, talking about her family, her grief, and what a fighter her mom was. This is the longest episode I've recorded so far, but it's so worth the listen. Keesha talks about the dynamics of a family getting COVID, her truest feelings about that because it was a family member ...
Episode 42. Shelly in California In this episode, I will be talking with Shelly in California. Shelly lost her husband, Ronnie, to COVID on July 3, 2020. Shelly shares so much in this show about how she and Ronnie met and the life they were building together. Shelly and Ronnie had two dogs that were especially important to them and in this episode, if you listen you can hear one of them snoring in the background for part of the show. If you have headphones on, you'll probably hear it even mo...
Episode 41. Casey in Kansas In this episode, I will be talking with Casey in Kansas. Casey lost her husband, David, to COVID on December 26, 2021. David left behind his wife and their six children. In this episode, she talks about her strong intuitive sense that something would happen to Dave and she talks about how she and her kids are coping. Dave had also recently lost his dad and his brother and was in the midst of deep grief himself when he got COVID. Casey is a documenter, and as she...
Episode 40. Alysia and Robert in California In this episode, I will be talking with Alysia and her dad, Robert in California. Alysia reached out to me about losing her mom, Sarah, to COVID on November 3, 2021. Alysia is one of 10 children ranging in age from about 3 to 21. Throughout our phone conversations she always had her dad, Robert, on the line. When I asked him if he wanted to be on the show with Alysia, he said no that he would be too sad. So it was pretty wonderful that durin...
Episode 39. Naj in San Francisco In this episode, I will be talking with Naj in San Francisco. Naj lost her grandmother, Rosemary Williams, on July 29, 2020. Rosemary was one of about 13 brothers and sisters and she was the last living sibling. She and her husband moved to San Francisco from Louisiana and started their married life together. They bought a house and lived in the same community for well over 50 years. Rosemary was the center of Naj's large family circle and losing her left a h...
Episode 38. Summer in South Carolina In this episode, I will be talking with Summer in South Carolina. This is a powerful episode about not only COVID loss, but long COVID. Summer's husband, Robert, was in the COVID ICU for 81 days and then he was released to a rehab facility and came home in October 2020. And he was home for almost 18 months. But Robert, and Summer, struggled through his long COVID. They saw specialists and doctors who all told them to "wait and see" and so they did. Robert...
Episode 37. Melanese in Maryland In this episode, I talk with Melanese in Maryland. Melanese lost her husband Charles Thomas, Jr. on February 28, 2021. He was admitted to the hospital with COVID in December 2020 and was there for about a week and then was released and came home. Melanese talks about his health struggles afterward and how her husband tried to push through, but he struggled with long COVID symptoms and collapsed and died in their home. Melanese has suffered a lot of sign...
In this episode, I will be talking with Mandy in Oregon. Mandy lost her dad, Brad Shroyer, on August 15, 2020. Her dad brought his tablet, his phone and chargers to the hospital with him and a wonderful nurse at the hospital helped him keep everything charged and online. Because of this Mandy and her mom were able to be on camera with her dad 24 hours a day for the entire length of his hospital stay. Mandy struggled with the weight of her grief and anger after her dad died and she created a...
Episode 35. Michelle in California In this episode, I will be talking with Michelle in California. Michelle lost her husband, Thor, on September 2, 2021. Thor was very proud of his Norwegian heritage, and they both loved Marvel movies. Michelle describes him as the strongest and silliest person she knew. Michelle talks about how she and Thor met, which is such a beautiful story and she also mentions the Facebook Widows group and the Soaring Spirits Widows group. Here are those links: Soari...
Episode 34. Loretta in California In this episode, I will be talking with Loretta in California. Loretta lost both of her parents to COVID within a month of each other. Her mother, Maria Cuevas, died on December 10, 2020 and her father, Cipriano Pedroza, passed away on January 8, 2021. Her parents had been divorced for many years, and so when Loretta's mom passed away, she had no reason to believe her dad would die so soon after. Loretta describes her dad as her favorite person and you can h...
Bonus Episode. Voices-19 Authors Talk About the Book Welcome to another bonus episode where I'll be talking with Jean, Kim and Rosie who wrote chapters in the book Voices-19: Their Legacies Live On, Stories Collected by Brenda E. Cortez. In each of the 18 chapters of this book, the authors write about a family member they have lost to COVID-19. Jean in New Jersey lost her sister, Vivian Meitzler on April 16, 2020. Kimberlee in Pennsylvania lost her father Paul Letizi on October 29, 2...
Episode 33. Megan in South Carolina In this episode, I will be talking with Megan in South Carolina. Megan lost her mom, Ann Trombino, to COVID on November 12, 2021. Megan is a mother with young children who will know their grandma through memories as they grow up and Megan has been so changed by her mother's death that she started a nonprofit to help children who have experienced loss and hardship due to a COVID death. Her nonprofit is called COVID is a Thief. Megan has also written a book...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States