The tragic story of a family in Utah as state retreats to outbreak of coronavirus cases

It was then that the 34-year-old Utah resident experienced first-hand the devastating toll of the coronavirus pandemic. On October 11, doctors announced that her mother, Tracy Larsen, 56, would lose her long battle with Covid-19. Minutes later, she learned that her grandfather, Bert Porter, 80, would also die.

His grandfather’s last words to his mother were: “I will look for you in Heaven”.

Wootton’s father was fighting his own battle with Covid-19. Chad Larsen, a 61-year-old college softball coach, fell ill in late August. He spent 46 days in the same hospital as his wife. Now at home, recovering, mourning the death of the love of his life.

The tragic family history is a microcosm of what is happening in Utah and the country. As cases skyrocket, families like the Woottons face the painful consequences.

‘We’re at breaking point’

In Utah, the number of Covid-19 cases rose by nearly 4,000 on Thursday, shattering the previous one-day case record of nearly 1,000.

The rise in infections has driven Utah’s seven-day average of new cases to a record 2,738 cases. The positivity rate has now exceeded 23%. The death toll is approaching 700 and climbing.

“These numbers should be alarming for all of us as we look at death rates, those who are hospitalized and the overspending of our hospital system,” Herbert said.

The increase in the number of cases is wreaking havoc on Utah hospitals, which have reached capacity.

“If you were denied a bed in the intensive care unit, would you still get care? Absolutely. But in our intensive care units, we have reached that line where we are indeed full,” said Greg Bell, who runs Utah. Hospital Association which oversees all of the state hospitals.

Bell said hospitals statewide have started converting acute care floors to ICU floors and workers are being reassigned as critical care nurses.

At the University of Utah Hospital, Dr. Elizabeth Middleton braces for a new surge in patients. She is the associate director of the medical intensive care unit and explains that it takes a few weeks for new cases to translate into hospitalizations.

“Two weeks from now we’ll have a different conversation because I think we’ll see our hospitalizations increase statewide,” Middleton said.

“It is the suffering that weighs on me,” added Middleton. “It is the suffering of the patients. It is the suffering of the staff who feel powerless to be able to stop the disease process or to make things better for another patient.”

Utah issued a two-week emergency order promulgated by Governor Herbert on Sunday. The order imposes masks statewide, restricts social gatherings and outlines plans for extensive Covid-19 testing. The governor has deployed more National Guard troops to help with testing and contact tracing.

“ My children don’t have their grandmother ”

For Lindsay Wootton, these measures are too few, too late. “I don’t think it was done on time,” she said.

Wootton, a full-time mother of two and part-time bartender, says her mother was her best friend. They would spend countless hours on the phone every day, a void that Wootton said will be impossible to fill.

“I know there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of families going through what my family has been through and it tears my heart apart because it is the worst pain I have ever felt,” said Wootton. “Losing two family members in a matter of weeks – that’s torture.”

Wootton says dozens of people in his extended family are fighting or have recovered from the virus. Many were unable to attend her mother’s funeral for fear of further spreading the disease – so the family aired the services on Zoom.

“A nurse and I were able to wash and braid her hair and style her as much as we could,” Wootton recalls. “We didn’t think this would be the last time they’d have a date. So it’s something we can all look back and smile on because it’s so special spending 34 years together.”

Wootton said his father was devastated. Her 6-year-old daughter is also struggling to cope with the loss.

“My little girl asked me, mom, can’t you have a new mom?” So I had to explain to her, honey, you only have one mom and they are irreplaceable.

Wootton cries when she thinks of all the special milestones her mother will miss.

“It’s frustrating that people brush [coronavirus] like just the flu, because for some people it isn’t, for some people it costs their lives, “she said, choking.” My children do not have their grandmother, my mother will never see my children marry. “

“I think it’s preventable if everyone listened to medical professionals and wore their face masks in public, washed their hands, moved away socially and downsized their group,” she said. . “If you are not concerned about your own health, do it as someone else’s concern. We could save lives just by wearing a mask and just thinking of someone other than us. . “