Utah Family Rocked By COVID-19 Says They Can’t Imagine Rationing Care
Oct 27, 2020, 6:14 PM | Updated: Jul 12, 2023, 6:21 pm
(Moody family)
(Moody family)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah family hit hard by the coronavirus said they’re very concerned about the hospital situation and the talk of having to ration care.
The Moody family had seven of their 10 family members get COVID-19. Their parents both ended up in the hospital, and unfortunately, their mother Carol Ann Moody, 71, never came home. She died of the virus on May 21.
“It’s scary. I don’t know where we are going to go,” said Robert Moody when talking about the numbers and the trend the state is seeing.
Every single day like clockwork, Robert and his brother Rick record the daily COVID-19 numbers in a spreadsheet they made on their phones.
“These are not just ‘nobodies.’ These are people’s families,” said Rick.
The sons said because of hospital restrictions, they never got a chance to say goodbye to their mother. They never expected once she went into the hospital, she would never come out.
“There is some regret in my life. I didn’t go out and say or hug her or give her a kiss that day [she went to the hospital],” said Robert. “I didn’t know she would go down that path.”
“Not being able to go and hug my mom and not say goodbye, it’s been really hard,” said Rick.
That’s why the Moodys worry so much about the current state of hospitals — the talk of a shortage of beds and hospital staff and the unthinkable, having to possibly ration care, who gets what bed.
“I just can’t imagine any family having to go through that,” said Robert. “Could you imagine the hospital making a decision, ‘Hey we consider your family member not deemed to stay on that respirator’ or whatever. Just can’t imagine.”
“It’s really scary that we are getting close to that point,” said Rick. “Who makes that decision? Who’s life is more important right. All lives are important. How do you say, ‘Well sorry, make room for somebody else.’”
The Moodys said fortunately for them, their mother had the best care possible. One of her final Facebook posts was a prayer to the world and a prayer for a cure.
“I’ve never prayed for the whole world ever until the last several weeks,” Carol Ann Moody wrote. “It’s like we are at war with an unknown enemy … My dad always said you never know when your ticket will be punched …We pray that a vaccine can be found. I know we have a God who loves each of us. God bless us all.”
