‘Get the Shot. It May Save Your Life’

Dale and Secelia McNair continue to grapple with COVID-19 after he
spent 72 days in the ICU at St. Frances Hospital. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

MEMPHIS, TN – Dale McNair is struggling to keep his blood oxygen level from cascading down into the danger zone. To help him breathe, he ambles along each day with two oxygen tanks in tow.

Reginald Johnson struggles too, but in a different way. His wife Shirley was deprived of oxygen and struggled mightily to breathe in the ICU at Methodist North Hospital. She didn’t make it.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on both families. Dale McNair, however, is fortunate to be alive. His wife Secelia prayed that God would restore his health. He still struggles, though.

The McNairs were married only 18 months when COVID-19 upended their lives. Secelia had gotten vaccinated; Dale had reservations. “I wanted to see how it would do her,” he said.

On April 27, he was admitted to St. Francis Hospital with pneumonia; and then, too, a second COVID-19 test had come back positive. Within a few days, his health had declined significantly.

Due to the scarcity of beds at the hospital, Dale McNair said he was placed in a makeshift room. “I started going down fast,” he said. “All I could think of was I just wished I could breathe again.”

He spent 72 days in the hospital, four weeks of that time on the cusp of death in the ICU. Plus, the ravaging virus had severely weakened his body, left him frail and a wisp of a man, and robbed him of 50 lbs. 

“I called at least twice a day,” said Secelia McNair, standing by her man, even when she couldn’t visit him. “I talked to the day nurses, night nurses, to see how he was doing, what his oxygen levels were.”

She prayed incessantly too and grappled with mental and emotional distress. “I actually started back seeing a counselor during that time,” she said. “Night times were the hardest, because I’m used to him being there.”

Prayer warriors near and far prayed for Dale McNair too. “I had friends that would text me and say they’re praying for me,” he said. “I had friends in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, California…even in other countries.”

The Johnsons were together 45 years, 35 of them in marriage. In March, they celebrated their wedding anniversary, renewed their vows, took off to Las Vegas, and fêted Shirley’s birthday.

The next month, on April 6, Reginald Johnson got himself vaccinated. He took his second shot the morning of April 30, the day the coronavirus took Shirley’s life. Now he’s alone without his better half.  

He said losing Shirley, the mother of their five children, has been painful and worse at night. “I’m hurting now,” he said, his voice unsteady. “I mean it’s just hard. My life…it’s just been torn upside down.” 

He remembers the onset of his wife’s illness. It was April 22, he recalls, when she started coughing. She blamed it on taking a shower, he said, and venturing too quickly into the outdoors.

“My son and I convinced her that she needed to go get tested,” he said. “So she got tested that Thursday. That Friday morning (April 23), they called and told us that she was positive with COVID-19.”

On Sunday morning, April 25, Reginald Johnson said Shirley woke up, sat on the side of the bed, and was gasping for air. “I told her, ‘Baby, you never want to go to the hospital, but you’re gonna go to the hospital by ambulance or you’re gonna go with me.”

He drove her to Methodist North Hospital. The grim news he received afterward wasn’t reassuring. “They said she was breathing 35 times a minute,” he said. “That was the last time I saw my wife alive until they called me on April 30.”

The McNairs and Reginald Johnson shared their stories on WAVN The Trend 104 FM/1240 AM radio station with host and owner Telisa Franklin and the Rev. Ricky Floyd, a community activist and senior pastor of the Pursuit of God Transformation Center in the Frayser community.

Frayser is located in the 38127 zip code area and has the highest COVID-19 cases in Shelby County, according to the Shelby County Health Department. Black and brown residents comprise the majority. It is one of the least vaccinated communities in the county.

Pastor Floyd has a lot to say about this. He believes the right information is not being disseminated. He said, “I feel there’s not been enough communication through the people who are aware, intelligent, and knowledgeable about the virus.”

Meanwhile, the coronavirus has mutated into the highly transmissible Delta variant. Its viral load is 1,000 times infectious and deadlier, the experts said. And it’s spreading like wildfire across the U.S. and abroad.

When it comes down to Black and brown people, Pastor Floyd said it’s a matter of “race, politics and economics.” He added: “It’s a dangerous combination for underprivileged people who don’t have access to healthcare.”

He is encouraging the underprivileged – or anybody, for that matter – to get vaccinated. “I’ve led by example,” he said. “I almost felt like God was having me to be an example that gives the rest of them confidence to take it.”

Dale McNair needed that confidence. But COVID-19 had overwhelmed him before he was ready to commit to the shot. “It not only can save your life,” he said, “but it can save the life of your spouse, your children…”

Reginald Johnson concurs. “Get the shot. It may save your life,” he added. 

Nursing home residents treated to a parade of love

A parade of automobiles rolled in and out of Graceland Rehabilitation and Nursing
Center's parking lot in a show of love and appreciation for residents sheltering in
place due to COVID-19. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

After shutting the doors to visitors in mid-March due to COVID-19, the staff at Graceland Rehabilitation and Nursing Center exceeded their goal for residents to see their loved ones.

More than 50 automobiles at one time stretched four city blocks in the Whitehaven community on May 30 between 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. The parade snaked in and out of Graceland’s parking lot in a show of love and appreciation. 

The staff positioned most residents under tents to shade them from the mid-day temperature as horns blared ceremoniously. Some residents waved approval as the parade rolled by them – some carrying balloons, others holding signs with the names of loved ones.

“Today was an opportunity for residents who haven’t had a chance to see their families – going on two months now – to have the face-to-face time,” LaToya Baker, Graceland’s director of Marketing and Public Relations, explained. 

“We saw nationally where other organizations were doing a parade,” said Baker. “We thought that would be a great way to maintain social distancing and encourage a little back and forth with their family.”

This three-wheel car, or trike, was one of more than
50 automobiles on the scene.

Elizabeth Perkins was delighted. She had not seen her sister Dorothy Brown since management shut the doors to keep COVID-19 at bay. She and her husband, Arthur Perkins, pulled into the parking lot with the name DOROTHY BROWN emblazoned on a sign. 

“It brought joy to my heart not only to see my sister, but to see other patients,” she said. “It was nice the way they had it set up. It was more close-and-personal than what I thought.” 

Brown thought the “close-and-personal” parade of automobiles was a good idea. “Some people haven’t seen their folks in a long time,” she responded by phone the next day. “It was good.”

Not all well-wishers expressed love from their automobiles. At least seven of them from Greater Love Miracle Center Church on Vance Avenue stood outside the wrought iron gate singing. Their songs were underscored with messages of love.

“We’re here doing our duty as Christians…encouraging these patients and the people that are working here…letting them know somebody cares, somebody loves them,” said Vernita Westbrook, who co-pastors the church with her husband, the Rev. Dennis Westbrook.  

“This is our duty to visit those who need us,” she said. “We have a group of people here just to encourage them.” 

Two sisters and a niece and nephew were encouraged. They came to lay eyes on Daisy Pettis, if only for a moment.

“I really miss coming to see my sister every week like I normally would do,” said Maria Lee, but then added, “This works for me.”

 Another sister, Mary Watson, chimed in. “I usually come every Wednesday. Since this (pandemic) has been going on, I can’t come and can’t call. [But] I’m glad the day was a good opportunity for me to see her.” 

Watson was happy to know that Daisy Pettis, a resident of two years, was looking good.

LaToya Lee, whose mother is Maria Lee, is the niece of Watson and Pettis. She noticed something about her aunt. “When we did drive by, I saw my aunt shed a few tears,” she said. “It lets me know that she misses us as much as we miss her.”

She added that the “drive by” had really shown her that people really care about their loved ones instead of just dropping them off and not coming back to see them.

Tommie Lee Jr., LaToya Lee’s brother, expressed a little sadness, though. He said the experience touched him. “But it’s kind of sad that you can’t sit with her, speak to her, or pick her up.” 

The residents at Graceland are faring well considering COVID-19’s onslaught on nursing homes around the country and in Memphis and Shelby County. However, Baker said there hasn’t been an outbreak among the 155 residents at the 200-bed facility.

At least 70 residents participated, she said.

While COVID-19 is ravaging nursing homes, the most vulnerable population, Baker said Graceland is following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention protocols to ensure the safety of residents and workers.

According to the Shelby County Health Department’s latest figures, there are 4,581 cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County, and that number includes 102 deaths. At least one-third of those deaths were nursing home residents and workers.

Has there been any residents infected with COVID-19 at Graceland?

“We’ve had people that we suspected; and when we did, we tested them,” said Baker. “But we’ve been very fortunate that we don’t have any confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the facility.” 

The residents’ temperatures are checked periodically and sporadically throughout the day, Baker said. Also, the staff wears masks, including the residents when they’re not in their rooms.

Although the residents have been confined to the facility with little interaction with their families, Baker said they may plan another parade to connect residents with families before it gets excruciatingly hot.

Business owner brings Class of 2020 together using social media

The coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has spread rapidly throughout every nook and cranny around the world. It has disrupted life as we knew it and, in Memphis, the rite of passage for high school graduates.

Eighteen-year-old Brienna Cooper finished her senior year at Southwind High School with a 3.8 GPA. But she was quite upset when the senior class was informed that all senior activities had ceased rather than risk the spread of COVID-19.

Brienna Cooper

“The only thing we got a chance to do was have our senior breakfast, and after that, it was nothing,” said Brienna Cooper, who was scheduled to graduate May 23 at FedEx Forum in Memphis. 

Graduation, however, hasn’t been a total bust for the Class of 2020. Telisa Franklin, owner of Flowers and More and other businesses, created a page on Facebook called “Memphis Class of 2020.” 

The page is a collection of stories and senior photos celebrating the accomplishments of graduating seniors from Shelby County Schools. Over a thousand members – students, parents and well-wishers – have joined the page. 

“There are a lot of underprivileged schools,” Franklin surmised. “There are only stories of the valedictorian and the salutatorian. On this page, the students are all in this together.”  

Franklin’s own son, 13-year-old Charles Edward Earl, was the source of inspiration that compelled her to honor graduating seniors. He had finished eighth grade at Elmore Park Middle School, but he, too, would not experience graduation before moving on to ninth grade at Bartlett Academy.

Joshua Franklin

“I woke up one Friday morning when Charles was passing to the ninth grade and realized that the school would not be holding graduation,” Franklin said. “So, if I’m missing out on his graduation to high school, I know others feel the same way.” 

Debra and Alan Cooper certainly felt that way. But COVID-19 dashed their hopes of celebrating Brienna’s achievements and her rite of passage from high school to Middle Tennessee State University to study nursing.

“I was upset about it, because she worked hard,” said Debra Cooper, a nursing assistant and mother of two other children as well. That pivotal moment for Brienna Cooper would have to wait for now. 

Belinda and Joe Franklin were disappointed. Their only child, Joshua Franklin, will not be walking across the stage just yet to accept his diploma from G.W. Carver College and Career Academy. 

A registered nurse, Belinda Franklin had talked to her son about graduation and the pandemic that brought everything to a screeching halt. Then she concluded the school was right for shutting down. 

“For the sake of everybody, I understood,” she said. 

“At first when this happened, I was sad. I know I did everything I could. I put my best foot forward,” said Joshua Franklin, a biochemistry major with a 4.0 GPA. Then he added: “We never had our senior trip or prom.” 

Joshua Franklin will be heading to Tennessee State University in the fall. But he is unsure if the university will return to normal just in case he has to stay on campus or if he would have to take virtual classes.

Whatever happens, COVID-19 won’t stop Joshua Franklin from pursuing a career in science. “Biochemistry is so broad,” he said. “So I would like to become a pathologist or a toxicologist.”

Shelby County Schools, which is home to over 100,000 students in more than 200 schools, has contingency plans to hold traditional graduation ceremonies in July, which is tentatively set between July 13-26. 

Of course, the District will abide by city or state health and safety regulations to ensure the safety of graduates. If this doesn’t work, SCS will have a backup plan to conduct virtual graduating ceremonies.  

Until then, Franklin will continue to host the “Memphis Class of 2020.” 

“She did more than the schools when they closed,” Debra Cooper said of Franklin. “It is such a good idea.”