For Those We Lost

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 Cerebe...

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 wi...

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 m...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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 gr...

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 fami...

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 o...

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 dee...

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, h...

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. Rosema...

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 speciali...

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 coll...

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 ...

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 gro...

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...

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...

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 deat...