COVID-19: vaccines -- the push to get shots in arms

Tena Robinson said the opportunities for physical activity and social interaction that she has found since relocating to Orangeburg from Maryland have helped her get through the coronavirus pandemic much easier.

The 65-year-old is one of several seniors who still gets to enjoy services, though on a limited basis, at the Orangeburg County Council on Aging at 2570 St. Matthews Road in Orangeburg.

‘It’s been challenging’

Robinson has been exercising two days a week there and plans soon to try her hand at quilting and crocheting, something she’s always wanted to do.

After relocating from Prince George’s County, Maryland, to her family home in Orangeburg, the South Carolina State University alum was looking for things to do and not just in a slower-paced environment, but safely.

She found it at the OCCOA.

“It’s been challenging, especially coming into a new environment. So, first of all, I didn’t know all that was available. I just love it. The ladies have just really welcomed me. Not only does it allow you to get out the house and do something for yourself and keep you moving, but you get a chance to talk and share different tidbits for navigating around the city. Being new to the area, that’s extremely important to me,” Robinson said.

“The staff is nice. That’s one of the things I really like. They always greet you with a smile,” she said, noting she appreciates the safety protocols in place to keep everyone safe.

“When you enter in, you have to have your temperature taken. They also have a form that you fill out to make sure that you haven’t been exposed, but everything is done with a smile,” Robinson said.

OCCOA mission

The focus of the nonprofit OCCOA is to provide programs and services for county residents age 60 and older. Promoting their independence and daily function, along with providing them with social and physical activities, is among the agency’s goals.

Group dining meals are among the services OCCOA provides at locations in the county, including Branchville and Vance.

OCCOA Executive Director Dee Anne Miller said while the service mission is the same, the delivery of services had to change once the coronavirus pandemic first hit a year ago in March.

“We stopped in mid-March. We’ve operated 75% of the programs just in a different way. Really, the only thing that we stopped was the homemaker program. Everything else, we figured out a way to do it safely. We upped the meal route, and we had to do that to try to make up for the budget of the homemaker program that we lost,” Miller said.

Homemaker services are among OCCOA’s other services: assisting eligible residents with light housekeeping; shopping and handling routine household activities; coordinating services; informing seniors about available resources and making appropriate referrals; and providing home-delivered meals Monday through Friday to a limited number of older area citizens.

An exercise program, group tours and recreation programs such as arts and crafts, canasta and bingo are also offered through the OCCOA.

Meals on Wheels

Instead of OCCOA delivering a hot meal Monday through Friday, the pandemic forced a change the Meals on Wheels on Program. One box of frozen food and other nonperishable items was sent to last for the entire week.

The program started back its original operation on March 1.

“So they’re getting a hot meal every day again. The meal program is back up like it was before. The dining room, of course, is not open and is not going to be open until probably July 1. So the congregation that visited and came every day, they actually come and pick up a food box once a week on the site.

“We’ve had events for them. We try at least once a month to have either a drive-thru health fair, or to give them some kind of activities each week just for them to avoid isolation and have something to look forward to,” Miller said, noting that the OCCOA feeds nearly 400 people a week.

Other programs

The exercise program is also being done, albeit differently.

“Exercise is being done as safely as possible. We had to limit the number of students that could come back in. They have to stay 6 feet apart. We’re had to move them to a larger room so that there was enough space. But it’s going well,” Miller said.

“They are a devoted group of ladies and they want to be in here. So they come regularly, and they’re following protocols. As soon as they walk in, we take their temperature, we ask them questions. So exercise is going great,” she said.

Miller the arts class that had met every Thursday has not started back yet.

“That’s probably in the works, maybe in the next month or so,” she said, noting that the Edisto Senior Games, which the OCCOA had also participated in to provide seniors with physical activity, have been postponed until a later time.

The OCCOA has, however, restarted its homemaker services program.

“We have a program that we offer, where we have people go in with people that are homebound and help them tidy up, do some chores. They may go to the grocery store for them, they may make them a light meal. They have not been in the homes in a year, and they started back Feb. 16,” Miller said, noting that safety is a top priority for program workers and the seniors they serve.

“We’re just covering them up with masks, gloves, aprons, foot covers and everything else, and they’re going in. The clients are staying 6x feet back, and they’re just taking care of them and getting on out,” Miller said.

While bingo has been among the virtual activities that the OCCOA has implemented, there are limitations for many seniors who don’t have access to technology.

“That’s been the hardest part. It’s not like we could have Zoom classes with them, or that kind of thing, but we have tried to send home virtual bingo for them. We’ve tried to send different puzzles each week, things just to keep their minds going and keep their intellectual stimulation going,” Miller said.

She continued, “So many of them are isolated. We were their one point of contact. So it’s tough, but we’re getting back.”

The OCCOA’s financial bottom line has also been impacted by changes forced by the pandemic.

“It is more costly to provide the frozen meals. A box of frozen meals is costlier than a hot meal every day. So it has definitely affected it, and we’ve been doing that for a year. So it has been rough on the budget, for sure,” Miller said.

She is hopeful OCCOA will be able to resume its normal operations soon.

“My goal is that we will have all our services back up and running at best-case scenario July 1. That’s just my personal hope and wish. You never know what can happen. We’re trying to ease back in very slowly to all of our services, but I’m hoping July 1 we’ll have the building back open and business as usual,” Miller.

Dee Snell is the OCCOA’s newly hired nutrition coordinator. Miller said she “has really stepped up to the plate and done things in a very different way than we ever dreamed we’d ever have to do.”

Snell said, “Our services are important because at their age, seniors need the interaction. A lot of them cannot cook nutritious food. So at least here it’ll meet some standard. They need that socialization because a lot of them really want to be here. I interact with them every Monday to pass out food. I know them all pretty good right now.”

Miller said outside of drive-thru health fairs, other events will be planned at least once a month until the center can fully open back up. She said the OCCOA may plan some outdoor activities that can be held on county-owned property located behind the OCCOA building in April, May and June.

“We’ll just have some senior days where, with weather permitting, they can go out there and safety sit for some activities. I think the first one we’re going to do is kind of a game say since we can’t do the Senior Games this year. There’s plenty of parking, and they can bring their own chairs,” Miller said.

‘We’re trying to be careful’

Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said the county operates seven senior centers: Wolfton, Whittaker Parkway, Edisto Drive, Cordova, North, Norway and Vance.

“They’re still opened for the feeding, but not open for regular activities. We’re going to wait until we get a higher percentage of individuals vaccinated before we open those back up,” Young said.

Miller said, “We could always try to set up a drive-thru, where they come get their food once a week, but I may be overstepping. I’m not sure. I’ve got to find out about that.”

Young said the reason for keeping the centers closed for regular activities is simple.

“We’re trying to be careful because at the end of the day, vaccinations are the most important thing right now to try to get us back to normal. Then we don’t want to be like the other states and drop the ball and stop fighting and then the next thing you know it overwhelms us again,” he said.

The administrator said the senior centers in some locations may be used for vaccination sites.

“We may use them in our plans for vaccination sites and other stuff,” Young said.

North Mayor Julius Jones said while the town’s senior center is closed, along with the town park, he is still urging seniors to take safety precautions.

“Masking, distancing and hand washing and all of the other precautions are always encouraged. It’s most definitely for the food of the community. We don’t have anybody to clean out there (at the town park). We just don’t want people to get sick, not on our watch,” Jones said.

Cordova Mayor James Martin said that along with the town’s senior center being closed, the town hall has also been closed for rentals.

“We’re losing a lot of money here for not renting it out. We have people calling now at least once a week wanting it, but the council and myself are not ready for it yet. Hopefully we can keep this distance and do what we can to make this thing go away,” Martin said.

“Only God knows the whole thing. I’m staying busy with other things around town, but just not involving people in it. We’re just trying to stay safe, take care of the normal business and do the best we can,” he added.

‘It’s a blessing to be able to help’

Orangeburg seniors Evelyn Hubbard, 77, and Mary Smalls, 73, both have been traveling less amid the pandemic but feel blessed to be able to help deliver meals through the OCCOA’s Meal on Wheels program.

Smalls said, “It’s a blessing to be able to help someone else. You don’t know what’s going to happen to you one day, and we’ve found that some of these seniors are glad to see a face. I find it to be a joy. I don’t have a problem getting up and going out.”

Smalls, who is also a member of the Samaritan House homeless shelter board, said she and Hubbard have also provided seniors with books and masks.

Hubbard said, “When we first started before COVID, they would keep you there talking. So you could tell that they were lonely. Now we have to let them know that we really can’t come in and stay, but the good thing is a lot of them have caretakers there with them.”

Hubbard said she is anticipating the end of the pandemic, but in the meantime will remain vigilant with trying to stay safe.

She has planned summer tours for the Orangeburg-based Land Cruises touring group for more than two decades, but said she will likely wait until next year before planning another one.

“The hotels are now sending me emails because they’re ready to open up, but I told them they won’t get anything from me until this pandemic has subsided tremendously. We’re looking at Vancouver when we start out again,” Hubbard said.

The Regional Medical Center is putting safety first for patients, visitors, providers and hospital staff as it seeks to allay coronavirus fears that may be leading individuals to delay or avoid medical care.

Strict adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety guidelines with the use of social distancing, masks, gloves and other protective gear, along with using special ultraviolet light to decontaminate surfaces and equipment, are among the ways RMC is adjusting to its new normal amid the pandemic.

'We take it

very seriously'

"I think it's safe mainly because we are taking every precaution. We're following CDC guidelines. We are, of course, social distancing, wearing masks. We have an internal COVID team actually that's led by Dr. John Samies, our epidemiologist, and we are constantly looking at the best practices and how we keep our patients and visitors safe," said Cynthia Dixon, RMC's interim chief nursing officer.

"We take it very seriously. I don't think you'll find a more dedicated and committed group of professionals that really want to care for the community. That's one reason why we take the safety of this community as a priority," she said.

There have been declines in people coming in for surgical services, but Dixon said the hospital is starting to see a rebound in the numbers of individuals returning for care.

"I know that we were down earlier in the year at about 30%. As COVID has continued to decline, we are continuing to see people start to slowly come back. That's one reason we really want to emphasize that we are doing everything to be safe and to make sure that our patients and visitors are safe," Dixon said.

Kirk Williams, RMC's interim chief executive officer, said specific service declines have been difficult to quantify, "but inpatient volume is the same, and outpatient volume is down 25% from what it was in 2019 in nearly all areas."

Dr. Lucious Craig III, an orthopaedic surgeon with the South Carolina Orthopaedic Institute, said delaying elective surgery should not be an option because his office takes every precaution to keep staff, patients and visitors safe.

"We socially distance in the office. We have a limited amount of people who are in our waiting room. We limit the amount of people who can come back at a certain time to see the physician. When you schedule for elective surgery ... everybody has masks, everybody has precautions that the CDC has recommended," Craig said.

Safety measures are just as stringent or more in the operating room, he said.

"Universal precautions are standards. We always wear masks, we always sanitize the area. Sometimes we use UV light to make sure that there's no viruses, no bacteria or anything in the area. So that area is very safe from viruses and bacteria on a baseline. There's no reason to be fearful of catching COVID getting an elective surgery in the hospital. There's no reason to delay getting treatment," Craig said.

The surgeon said the hospital is also home to special COVID units designed specifically to house individuals with the virus.

"They are negative pressure rooms, which means that the air is not circulating all around. So this area is not communicating with the other patients that are in the hospital. It's very unlikely that you will catch COVID from being in the hospital," Craig said.

He said individuals risk creating a poorer quality of life by delaying medical procedures.

"Nobody's going to die from not having a knee-replacement surgery, but your quality of life could definitely be affected. That's the basic reason you should definitely seek treatment," Craig said.

He said while surgery may not be the best answer for every condition, seeking a medical professional to talk with is paramount, rather than letting conditions deteriorate over time.

"When you have problems, don't put if off because it could be something more serious than just an ache or pain. It could be a signal that something is really wrong with your body. You may self diagnosis and say, 'Well, I'll just wait,' when ... you definitely should seek medical attention," Craig said.

Dr. Mark Krzyston, FACC, a cardiologist, said many people think the hospital canceled elective surgery during the pandemic because of the fear of infection, "but it was to make sure that there were enough assets to treat people who were contracting COVID in the community."

"They were saving resources to treat these people," Krzyston said.

Dixon said those were among the hard decisions that RMC has had to make during the pandemic.

"When we had to make those hard decisions about postponing or canceling our elective surgeries for a few days, we needed those nursing staff ... to help us with the patients from the emergency department. ... That's because of resources and bed availability. It was a hard decision every day on what to do," she said.

'Early screening

is key'

Krzyston said individuals should not put off treatment of their diagnosed conditions.

"Every day people come into the hospital and they're having an acute myocardial infarction, they're having an acute stroke. Fortunately, there are things that we can do to interrupt those processes. ... It's always easier to treat something electively rather than urgently or emergently, and the outcomes are better," the cardiologist said.

"That's why it's important to keep up with your appointments, to keep up with follow-up and certainly to contact your physician if you have any change in your symptoms whatsoever," he added.

What about individuals who do not have a primary care physician?

"We can help you find someone. It can be either one of our primary care providers, and we also have partnerships with other providers," Dixon said.

When patients are ready to be discharged, those without a primary care physician are offered a selection of providers.

"We go ahead to start setting up their follow-up appointment because ... you really like to follow up with them about five to seven days after discharge. So we go ahead and try to set those appointments so they don't lapse in their care," Dixon said, noting that the procedure is the same at RMC's Express Care facility, its Santee Urgent Care site, its emergency room, as well as at the newly constructed freestanding Emergency Medical Center between Bamberg and Denmark.

Dr. Lamar Dawkins Jr., an adult medical specialist with RMC Internal Medicine, said it is extremely important to have a primary care physician in the coordination of care.

"I kind of consider myself as the band director, so to speak. You'll have the cardiology section, the pulmonology section over here, and the surgeons over there, but you need one person that's trained to make sure that everybody's looking at everything at the same time," Dawkins said.

Dawkins specializes in treating a wide range of illnesses, including hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, and said preventive care is key. He urged individuals to not put procedures such as mammograms and colonoscopies off.

He touted the RMC's Breast Health Center's use of 3-D mammography and the numerous local health care providers in the community who can provide colonscopies, including four surgeons and a gastroenterologist.

"Early screening is key. You can't do it unless you come in or at least talk to your doctor to get those procedures scheduled. The other thing, too, is that with COVID, there's an increased risk for serious disease and death if you have underlying comorbidities. I'm pretty sure if the comorbidities are not controlled, the risk of serious illness and death increases," Dawkins said.

He continued, "I'm also the medical director for the rehab center, where we treat patients who've already been admitted in the hospital with strokes, heart attacks and amputations. All that could be prevented with preventive care."

'Even higher

quality of germ

reduction'

Dawkins said his office follows CDC guidelines and prioritizes the safety of everyone.

"We assure that patients are not at risk when they do come in. I did see a decline maybe October to December, but now the numbers are picking back up. ... It's very imperative that I do not put my healthy patients at risk either.

"Fortunately, being a doctor of patients above the age of 65, probably half of those have received the (COVID) vaccine. The other half that come in want to talk about the vaccine and its pros and cons. So I'm seeing a surge in the number of visits because of that," he said.

Craig said, "Telemedicine is available as well in the primary care clinics. For whoever does not have the ability to come to the hospital, there's telemedicine. So definitely don't delay treatment for any reason. We also now have robotic surgery in orthopaedics and also in general surgery, urology and GYN surgery."

"That's allowing us to make smaller incisions and have less blood loss. We find the patients are staying in the hospital less days. So even if you do have elective surgery, we've found ways to make your hospital day shorter. So you're able to go home quicker and start to rehab," he added.

Dixon said the work to promote safety continues.

"During these last several months, the hospital has brought in extra ultraviolet machines to kind of ensure an even higher quality of germ reduction and prevention."

The hospital is committed to "making sure that our patients are as safe as possible when they come in," she said.

Lena Carson had the threat of the coronavirus looming over her since she was 13 months old. While the 2-year-old’s serious health issues last year were not attributed to the deadly viral disease, her parents were still forced to transform their lives in order to protect their premature child from it.

There’s still many unknowns regarding the virus which first landed in the United States a year ago, making Lena’s parents’ journey even more impactful – and important – in the survival of their only child.

“We’re very blessed. That’s my biggest takeaway from this past year. The fight isn’t over, but we are blessed. She’s going to have a heck of a testimony when she gets older. This community is not done hearing about Lena Belle Carson,” St. Matthews resident Lauren Snipes said.

Snipes, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Run School, first noticed a difference in Lena on the morning of March 27, 2020.

Her normally happy 13-month-old began to get fussy and burn with fever. She and Lena's father, Ricky, assumed that their baby, who was born at 2 pounds, 7 ounces, may have just been dealing with a case of the flu.

The couple later learned that their baby had a case of mycoplasma pneumonia.

“She continued to run high fevers up to almost 103 degrees and was still just very lethargic and not herself. We ended up going back to her pediatrician two more times,” Snipes said.

“They ran the flu test again and finally did another chest X-ray. That’s where they basically just kind of saw that the pneumonia was there. We don’t know if that was the initial reason why she got so sick, or if that’s what it ended up turning into. I don’t think we’ll ever really know,” she said.

Lena’s pediatrician advised her parents to have her followed by a pulmonologist.

“Her pediatrician felt like that would probably be good because of her prematurity and because she had been so sick in that first year of her life. We ended up getting referred to a pulmonologist at MUSC because they were able to get her in quicker. At that point, that is when a lot of doctor’s offices began transferring over to the virtual appointments,” Snipes said.

“So initially we met with a pulmonologist virtually. Then after giving her a little bit of details of what we went through last March, they wanted her to be seen immediately. That’s when they did some of the testing and stuff and found out that her lungs were still very underdeveloped,” she said.

Snipes continued, “So at that point, the pulmonologist kind of got right into action. Her first question was: Is there any way that she can be kept out of daycare for the next year? Her exact words were, ‘If this child were to contract coronavirus, you are going to be looking at being admitted to the hospital.’”

The news of Lena’s diagnosis came within a few weeks of her becoming sick in late-March of last year. It was also when her parents knew that their lives would have to change.

“My birthday’s April 26, and I remember we had just made the decision like right before my birthday that we were going to pull her out of daycare. But, of course, she had not been in daycare since March because she had been so sick. So, you know, kind of following what we were told ... we literally had to transform our daily lives,” Snipes said.

The couple did not leave their home for months.

“I was scared. We did not see grandparents, and that was probably the hardest part. My parents are quite a bit older, and then Ricky’s parents have underlying health issues. So not only were we concerned about Lena catching something, but we were concerned about us bringing something to them,” Snipes said.

Ricky, who works at the Orangeburg Department of Utilities, even had to stay home until the baby was cleared of pneumonia.

Snipes said trips to the grocery store, church, friends’ homes and the neighborhood library stopped. There was no family vacation.

“We had missed celebrating Easter with my family. We had already missed celebrating my birthday with my family, Mother’s Day, Rick’s birthday and my sister’s birthday,” Snipes said.

An eventual visit to her parents’ home near Charlotte to celebrate her father’s birthday, which usually falls on the same weekend as Father’s Day, even came with precautions.

“My parents did not leave their house for two weeks until we came up there because they were so nervous. Lena’s still in so many therapies for her prematurity. So another thing that was really hard to adjust to was having all of those therapies moved to Zoom,” Snipes said.

She continued, “We lost a lot of time. We lost the opportunity to have her NICU follow-up visits. We were finally able to go to her NICU follow up in January. Then we got some news about her having some brain development issues. In the back of your mind, it makes you wonder, ‘Well, if I had had an MRI done last year, is there something we could have done in the last six to eight months?’”

Lena is now being cared for by her grandparents, who rotate weekly in providing the support Lena’s parents have needed.

Snipes said she also appreciates the prayers and generosity shown to her family by their community members.

“Overall, she’s been healthy. We have had one ear infection since all of the issues last spring. I do attribute that to her being home. From the prematurity aspect, she has a severe speech delay. She is only able to say five words,” she said.

Lena’s also in occupational therapy for the development of her fine motor skills and physical therapy for growth motor skill development.

“I think the biggest hurdle that we are facing right now as parents is because of the likelihood of delays, we are being encouraged to consider looking at a 3K program for the fall,” said Snipes, who is carefully trying to determine the safest place to send her baby.

“I see the PPE and the resources that my school district has to keep children safe. So I think the biggest struggle is, do we take that leap and possibly expose her to who knows what, or do we keep her home another year because she has been so healthy?” she said.

Snipes said while there are varying views as to the seriousness of the coronavirus, her first priority has always been the health and safety of her child.

“I wouldn’t say I necessarily had to cut off friendships, but I did have to learn what people’s priorities were ...  In fact, even to this day, I can count on one hand the people that we go and spend time with outside of family,” she said.

She continues to marvel at Lena’s progress, though she realizes the fight is not over.

“She is the definition of a miracle. No matter what gets thrown her way throughout her life, I know she is going to give it a run for its money because she gives us a run for our money every day,” said Snipes, who never forgot one thing a NICU nurse once told her.

“She said, ‘Dying is easy, it’s the living that’s the hard part.’ I see how Lena has continued to fight. She’s proven that she is a miracle time and time again,” Snipes said.

Julian “Shot” Weathers is thankful to be alive.

The 64-year-old Elloree resident said he experienced a miracle, and he shared the testimony of his COVID-19 journey at his home church, Duncan Chapel United Methodist, just a few weeks ago.

“I felt like I was going to die,” the St. George native said in an interview, recollecting his experience of being in the intensive care unit for a few days.

In total, Weathers was hospitalized for 18 days.

His ordeal began at 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve when he took a fall at home.

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“Apparently I blacked out because I woke up and I had blood on my face and I had soiled myself with urine,” he said.

He managed to stand, clean himself up and change his clothes, only to feel like he was about to fall again, he said.

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“So I grabbed a chair and then I went on down to the ground and that’s when I called 911,” he said.

Orangeburg County EMS transported him to the Regional Medical Center.

He was quickly admitted and it was determined he was positive for COVID-19.

“I was very scared,” he said. “Tears started coming.”

A nurse realized how upset he was and found out that he was related to another nurse there, Beth Berry.

“Beth came and talked with me and calmed me down a little bit,” Weathers said.

And another nurse wrote on the glass doors of his ICU room, “Faith over fear.”

“I kept looking at that every day,” he said.

Weathers also listened to a song about angels watching over him night and day.

At one point, “The doctor came to me and said to me when I was in ICU if I didn’t start fighting and didn’t improve that they were going to have to put me on a ventilator.”

When he arrived at RMC, Weathers was only able to breathe on his own at 46 percent.

His care team put him on a BiPAP machine, which is short for bilevel positive airway pressure.

At night, he was on a CPAP machine, or continuous positive airway pressure.

Weathers said he prayed a lot while in ICU.

Two of the requests he made to God included not having to go on a ventilator and that his care team “would not have to make the call to Joe Wamer.”

Wamer is the owner of Bryant Funeral Home in St. George.

“By the grace of God, those two things did not happen,” Weathers said.

He’s not certain how long he remained in ICU but guesses it was around three days or so.

“I went from ICU to a COVID step-down unit,” he said.

Weathers said, “I couldn’t have asked for better care” than what he received at RMC.

He joked, “That was the least amount of excitement and fun that I’ve ever had with my drawers off.”

After two-and-a-half weeks, Weathers was discharged on Jan. 11 and stayed with this sister and brother-in-law for several days so he could regain some of his strength.

He’d lost 26 pounds during his hospital stay.

Shortly after leaving the hospital, he spoke on the phone with a cousin in North Carolina who’d texted him daily with encouraging notes.

He called to tell her he was out of the hospital.

She said to him, “Well, I’m stopping right now from what I’m doing to thank God for a miracle!”

“At that point, I had not considered it to be a miracle, but I certainly do today,” Weathers said.

He recently visited his primary care provider, who reviewed laboratory findings from blood samples Weathers provided.

Weathers said his doctor was pleased with the results and asked him to visit again in six months to monitor his progress.

Weathers said he still gets tired easily, but his strength is returning.

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Unfortunately, the Christmas Eve episode wasn’t the first time Weathers was impacted by the pandemic.

Back in June 2020, he closed his florist business in downtown Elloree and put the building up for sale.

Weathers said that when Gov. Henry McMaster ordered the temporary closures of specific businesses, such as florists, his shop didn’t rebound from the losses.

“When the governor shut us down, it just never really came back,” he said.

Weathers opened the business there in 2018.

He doesn’t know why he’s had to experience the two hardships – first having to close his business and then contracting COVID-19 – “I just simply know it’s part of my journey.”

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Weathers said he’s received a continuous outpouring of love, prayers and support since he’s closed his business and after getting COVID-19. He’s thankful for all of it, he said.

“Now my name is being mentioned in rooms my feet haven’t entered yet and God is doing amazing things in my life as I move forward,” he said.

Municipal Judge Chasity Sanders Avinger no longer has to sign warrants from her porch or spray Lysol on them before handing them back to officers.

But while she’s recovered from coronavirus, her work life hasn’t returned to normal.

Avinger is the associate municipal judge in Orangeburg and also serves as the municipal judge for Holly Hill and Santee.

Avinger, her husband and her three sons live in Holly Hill.

From the beginning of the pandemic, they took precautions individually and as a family to steer clear of the virus.

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She’d been able to work from home as necessary and her husband, Preston, worked in a secured building.

But late last year, her husband called to report that one of his co-workers had symptoms of the virus.

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The co-worker took a coronavirus test and, less than a week later, the test results proved positive.

Avinger urged her husband to stop at a drive-thru testing site in Holly Hill on his way home. He did.

Over the weekend, he began to experience symptoms of the virus.

While her husband waited on the results from the drive-thru test, he also decided to get a rapid test. On Monday, he learned that he had COVID-19.

Avinger and her three sons decided to also get tested for the virus.

She tested positive. Her sons tested negative.

“I was shocked and not very pleased,” Avinger said when she learned she was positive for the virus.

“I felt like we’d done a really good job and we’d made it basically nine months without getting it,” she said.

Both she and her husband had health concerns that could’ve led to complications after contracting the virus.

She’d had pneumonia just months before and her husband is diabetic and has sleep apnea.

For the first week, she and her husband felt rough, she said.

They felt better for a day, but after that, it got worse for both of them.

“I’m someone who is used to working and dealing with kids and volunteer work and just 'go-go-go' all the time, usually for 12 to 16 hours a day,” she said.

But the fatigue all but paralyzed her and her husband to the point where they felt accomplished for taking a shower or getting up out of bed.

Avinger said the fatigue wasn’t achy, like having the flu.

“You felt more like you’re carrying cement blocks,” she said.

For a few days, she lost her senses of taste and smell, but they soon returned.

Once neighbors and friends learned that the family was quarantined at home due to the virus, they brought meals, groceries and Christmas cookies and left them on the porch.

Avinger was able to communicate with them through the glass storm door.

Even more frustrating was having to remain quarantined through the Christmas holidays, she said.

She’s thankful her sons’ school accommodated them through virtual classes so they could remain quarantined at home, too.

As she felt better, Avinger conducted virtual bond hearings.

On several occasions, officers would drive to her home so she could sign warrants.

She said officers would stand away from the porch as she stood outside to sign them.

She’d then spray Lysol on the warrants before handing them back to the officers.

But being away from work for weeks at a time, “It just really becomes demoralizing because your life is not normal anymore,” Avinger said.

Both her and her husband’s employers stipulated that they weren’t permitted to return to the office until they received negative COVID-19 results.

They returned to work in late January, but as eager as Avinger was to return to work, she soon noticed some of her co-workers weren’t.

“I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but some people were very uncomfortable to be around me because I had had COVID,” she said.

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About a month later, those colleagues “started feeling normal around me.”

“I think the hardest thing, with what I’ve seen, is we’re so focused on wanting to return to normal so desperately that we avoid doing the things that would get us there,” she said. Avinger mentioned common sense measures people can take, such as wearing masks correctly and practicing social distancing.

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“I feel like if we’d done all of those things at the beginning, and really done them, that we wouldn’t be struggling a year later,” she said.

It’s been a year since “we’ve had regular, in-person, no precautions, court,” she said.

One of the good things to come out of the pandemic is “we have adapted and learned to use technology in ways that we weren’t fully taking advantage of before, that I think would really be beneficial moving forward,” she said.

As for the negative aspects, “we’ve got a backlog and when we reopen, we’re all going to have to work very, very hard to get things back on a normal track,” Avinger said.

Like many courts throughout the state, the Orangeburg municipal court “hasn’t had jury trials in over a year,” she noted.

Statewide, jury trials are set to resume next month.

“Everyone who comes in the building will have their temperatures checked,” Avinger said. In addition, individuals will be screened and be required to wear face masks.

“And I have a feeling that we’ll have people who don’t want to come and serve because they don’t want to be around people and I understand that. It’s going to be a challenge that we’re going to have to deal with,” she said.

“We’re going to have to figure out how we accommodate people’s safety concerns with the constitutional mandates that we have with regards to defendants and victims,” she explained.

“Postponing cases becomes frustrating for everyone involved,” she added.

Avinger said the Orangeburg municipal courtroom is big enough to space jurors out well.

Throughout the challenges of COVID-19, both personally and professionally, Avinger said she remains thankful because she knows others haven’t been so fortunate.

‘He didn’t teach me how to live without him’

We all have been hearing about COVID for over a year now. One of the prayers I said all day every day was for my family and friends and people I know to be protected and not fall victim to COVID-19.

Unfortunately my family, just like many others, wasn't so lucky. It's not about who's the strongest or bravest. COVID affects the best of us. I figured if we could share our story of our loss, maybe we can save at least one life.

Understand that continuing to wear a mask isn't easy. Most are tired of hearing the same warnings or taking the same precautions. Please remember this virus does not take a day off. If you don't like wearing a mask, trust and believe the ventilator won't feel better.

My father George Washington (Mr. Washington or "Bubsie," as most of you know him, originally from Eutawville and later from Orangeburg) was a well-known businessman in Orangeburg County for years. He started his traveling business many years ago in the early ‘80s. To the world, he was one man. But to us, he was our world.

Our father worked at Family Dollar for years after closing his bus station on Bass Drive in Santee. From there he went on to work for Family Dollar in Orangeburg. After leaving Family Dollar, he started a career in security for the VA hospitals. Like most people, he was living a normal life.

Then came along the coronavirus, changing the world that most of us were familiar with. My father was the biggest on sanitizing, giving fist bumps instead of handshakes, not going to gatherings.

Then like most among us, he let his guard down. Having younger kids who played sports, naturally he wanted to be there and support them. That's one of the biggest topics of conversation when speaking about him: Did he contract COVID from a game?

Mr. Washington went to a game, woke up one morning and had a fever. He went to the doctor as a precautionary measure and was then sent to the ER. Well because of COVID, they ran tests on him. Here comes the upset. He was diagnosed with COVID and pneumonia.

I will never forget the feeling I had when he texted me those words. He said “Baby, I’m in the hospital.”

I asked why.

He said, “I'm positive.”

I said, “Positive what?”

He then said for COVID and pneumonia. The walls began closing in. The next 11 days then became the most agonizing days of my life. I won't bore you with the details of the next 11 days, but I will tell you this: Something that started with just a fever turned into the last 11 days of our father’s life.

He lost his battle to COVID on Dec. 18, 2020.

One of the worst feelings is going through that and realizing how much you are going to miss a moment while you are living in that moment. You can have this dazzling life, then suddenly all you have left are memories, photographs that never age, a calendar marking dreadful new holidays and a grave to visit.

You won't understand the difference in enjoying music and being happy and being sad and understanding the lyrics. My father taught me everything, but he didn't teach me how to live without him. I said all that to say this: Something as simple as wearing a mask is doing yourself or someone's family member a favor. Just because one person may be able to fight the virus doesn't mean the next person will be that lucky. I'm a living witness. Hope our loss can help the next person. God Bless.

Tonya Washington Jefferson, Eutawville

'Rainbow after long, horrible storm'

I don’t know how everyone else felt but I can tell you a year with the coronavirus was definitely hard. I am a family of seven -- my husband and I have five kids in the house. We have three middle-schoolers and two elementary-schoolers.

When we first heard about the virus being in another part of the world, it was scary but not nearly as scary as when it hit the United States and things started to happen. In March 2020 when we first got the report about schools being shut down, that's when it got super real for me and all the anxiety quickly hit me at once and panic set in.

I had all this worry inside not knowing how could it affect people’s health. My husband has COPD and asthma, so there was that worry on top of me worrying about my kids’ schooling and how this could affect them and is it safe to go out anywhere or how do I not get the virus.

When you don't know much about something, it makes you freak out and overthink everything and worry immensely. I had to make sure the kids did their schooling, which had me going to the schools to get their stuff. So I had to make sure they got Chromebooks for my older ones and for my younger ones get their worksheets, and I had to turn the packets in weekly and pick up new work.

It was definitely a lot to take on at once, but I had to do it and do grocery shopping and pick up medications as well and not knowing if I somehow contracted the virus every time I went somewhere – it can take a toll on your mind and sanity.

This virus also had my husband nervous because of his lungs so he would have me buy Lysol spray and Lysol everyone and everything that came in our house just to be safe. The next thing you know, there was a shortage on Lysol and toilet paper, which made panic worse, as well as certain places shut down.

The law was then made to where you had to wear a mask in all the stores and buildings. I can tell you that wearing a mask made my anxiety worse and at first messed with my sense of direction. I would trip over things I would normally see or drop things I wouldn't normally drop. I would have small panic attacks in the store.

I eventually got used to wearing a mask since I had to. My husband eventually left the house when he needed to. It was like once we got used to the new way of our daily life, we just kind of got used to it since it seemed to be our new normal, which is a messed-up normal.

I would have to say living and surviving a year with COVID was definitely an obstacle my family had to overcome but we did it slowly. No matter how scary or hard it was to get used to, we had to do it or live in fear, which just makes things worse.

I can say that virtual schooling has definitely been a challenge for some of my kids -- and a blessing. I’m glad there is finally a vaccine -- that is a small rainbow after a long, horrible storm. There is always hope.

Mary Nichols, Eutawville

'God spared my life'

My name is Eddie Rivers. On March 28, 2020, my wife and I went to the Regional Medical Center to get tested for COVID-19. We both tested positive. She was sent home to quarantine and I was admitted because of a touch of pneumonia in my left lung.

ICU called my wife six hours later and told her that I could not breathe and had to be sent to them. I woke up two weeks later to find out that I was intubated and could not breathe on my own. My wife was told that I may not make it. I knew nothing about the outside world or my wife and family.

After four weeks in ICU, I left the hospital to go to my family using a walker and barely speaking anything that they could understand. I realized that God had spared my life and I am truly grateful. With the assistance of family and caring nurses, I am able to slowly walk, talk, feed myself and, yes, go to the bathroom again without assistance.

After a year of healing, mentally and physically, it is still painful and difficult to get around. I am mentally afraid to take my family on any vacations.

Eddie Rivers

Pausing a 72-year tradition

Because of coronavirus, after meeting for 72 years, a group in the Providence Community was forced to call a halt to their monthly gatherings. In 1949, to celebrate the marriage of two couples, several neighbors “had a supper” in their honor. On that night, they decided to make this a monthly get-together and include all of the couples in Providence. It was called the “Mr. and Mrs. Club.”

Through the years, members were added. Currently, only two of the charter members are still living: Betty Shuler and Sue Shuler.

At that time, their plan was to meet on the first Saturday night of each month and have a covered-dish meal followed by trivia type games. For almost three-quarters of a century, only a few changes were made:

1. After some of them became widows or widowers, the name was changed to “Supper Club."

2. Instead of bringing a covered dish, they began to eat at a restaurant or have the meal catered at the Providence Fellowship Hall.

In March 2020, the pandemic forced them to stop meeting. This was the first break in that 72-year-old tradition.

Betty Shuler, Providence Community, Holly Hill

So much has changed in the world over a year amid the coronavirus pandemic. It’s hard to name anyone or anything that in some way has not been impacted.

Government has felt the effects in the way it does business. Offices were closed for extended periods of time but are mostly now back in semi-regular operation. But many governmental bodies such as councils and boards are continuing to meet virtually using programs such as Zoom.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski says the virtual meetings have had the most effect on the way his job as a journalist has changed.

“The biggest challenge of virtual meetings has been getting public input on various government/board proceedings as the public comment portion of board meetings has been curtailed and in some cases eliminated due to the virtual setting. Some boards have set up separate electronic avenues for the public to communicate.

“I believe in many ways things have changed for the good as public bodies have exercised innovation and creativity to ensure transparency is maintained. Virtual and electronic media have opened meetings to a wider audience.

“Ironically, the virtual platform has enabled meetings to become more accessible as individuals can attend the meetings via Zoom, Facebook Live, Microsoft Teams etc. than they would otherwise from an in-person setting.”

Zaleski is on the front line in reporting and his assessment should be reassuring to a public that needs to know what its government is doing. As vaccinations continue and the pandemic (hopefully) fades away, government will be transitioning back to a more traditional way of doing business.

It’s important people know that whether meetings of governmental bodies are in-person or virtual, government has obligations under the Freedom of Information Act:

• Publicly announce a meeting at least 24 hours in advance.

• Provide an agenda for every meeting in advance.

• Provide to the public copies of documents being considered at a public meeting.

• Enter into a closed session only for specific reasons as outlined in FOIA.

• Take no action in close sessions.

• Provide minutes of public meetings.

Anyone familiar with public meetings will attest that some public bodies take FOIA far more seriously than others, understanding that in most instances they are unlikely to face a formal – or even informal – challenge. But now that the coronavirus has changed so many things, our hope is that a new era of open government can sprout from new ways of conducting the public’s business.

A return to face-to-face meetings with public comment periods will be positive development but the new ground that has been broken by public bodies in offering citizens a way to attend virtually should not be sacrificed. Getting more people involved with their local government is and should be a primary goal of our elected leaders as they use the opportunity to show how the public’s business is supposed to be conducted.