Posted on Sep 14, 2021
A Man Died After Being Turned Away From 43 ICUs At Capacity Due To COVID, Family Says
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https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/09/13/ [login to see] /coronavirus-alabama-43-icus-at-capacity-ray-demonia
Ray DeMonia, 73, was born and raised in Cullman, Ala., but he died on Sept. 1, some 200 miles away in an intensive care unit in Meridian, Miss.
Last month, DeMonia, who spent 40 years in the antiques and auctions business, suffered a cardiac emergency. But it was because hospitals are full due to the coronavirus — and not his heart — that he was forced to spend his last days so far from home, according to his family.
"Due to COVID 19, CRMC emergency staff contacted 43 hospitals in 3 states in search of a Cardiac ICU bed and finally located one in Meridian, MS.," the last paragraph of DeMonia's obituary reads, referring to the Cullman Regional Medical Center.
"In honor of Ray, please get vaccinated if you have not, in an effort to free up resources for non COVID related emergencies ... ," the obituary reads. "He would not want any other family to go through what his did."
The challenge for DeMonia's family members to find proper care for their loved one comes amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases that have strained many ICUs to the breaking point once again as the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus spreads. Although some people infected after vaccination do require hospitalization, a study released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that unvaccinated people were far more likely to become infected, to be hospitalized and to die from COVID-19.
Ray DeMonia, 73, was born and raised in Cullman, Ala., but he died on Sept. 1, some 200 miles away in an intensive care unit in Meridian, Miss.
Last month, DeMonia, who spent 40 years in the antiques and auctions business, suffered a cardiac emergency. But it was because hospitals are full due to the coronavirus — and not his heart — that he was forced to spend his last days so far from home, according to his family.
"Due to COVID 19, CRMC emergency staff contacted 43 hospitals in 3 states in search of a Cardiac ICU bed and finally located one in Meridian, MS.," the last paragraph of DeMonia's obituary reads, referring to the Cullman Regional Medical Center.
"In honor of Ray, please get vaccinated if you have not, in an effort to free up resources for non COVID related emergencies ... ," the obituary reads. "He would not want any other family to go through what his did."
The challenge for DeMonia's family members to find proper care for their loved one comes amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases that have strained many ICUs to the breaking point once again as the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus spreads. Although some people infected after vaccination do require hospitalization, a study released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that unvaccinated people were far more likely to become infected, to be hospitalized and to die from COVID-19.
A Man Died After Being Turned Away From 43 ICUs At Capacity Due To COVID, Family Says
Posted from npr.org
Medical
Health
Cullman
Meridian
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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Disgusting. I hope those who now refuse to get the vaccine and catch covid get turned down for insurance coverage. Let them foot the whole bill.
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Heard about this on the news this morning. What a shame and waste that all the beds this man could have used were filled by covid patients, probably 90% of them unvaccinated. I hope those selfish pricks can live with this man's death on their conscience.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel these persons who are contributing to unnecessary deaths, I wonder if they are crying their constitutional rights are being violated while preventable deaths are occurring because they constitutionally have a bed to continue getting infected in between protests.
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SrA John Monette
Of course they are PO3 Phyllis Maynard . We can't dare tell them the bed is needed for someone who really needs it. We can't tell them that their illness is almost 100% preventable. And we can't tell them how selfish they are.
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