Lisa Nemacheck knows the devastation of COVID-19 all too well.
Nemacheck lost her 83-year-old mother, Barbara Nemacheck, to the virus in January. On Saturday, she gathered with about 20 others at Port Clinton Square in downtown Highland Park as part of a nationwide event to remember the more than 615,000 people in the United States who have died from the virus and to support the family, friends and loved ones left behind.
“After my mother died I couldn’t think straight,” said Nemacheck as she fought back tears. “My speech was impaired and I’ve done about two and one-half months of trauma therapy.”
The weekend gatherings were organized by nationwide groups COVID Survivors for Change and Yellow Heart Memorial, which were largely mobilized on social media. Nemacheck helped organized the Highland Park event.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise locally and nationally, the organizations are asking elected officials to prioritize survivors for relief resources, improve health and mental health care for long-haulers and surviving children, memorialize those who died and to form a governmental nonpartisan commission to ensure a pandemic like COVID-19 never happens again, according to a news release.
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“This event is important because they are our loved ones and we don’t want them to be forgotten,” Nemacheck said, who was wearing a yellow event T-shirt. “They’re our mommies. Our daddies. Our aunts. Our uncles. Our friends. Our husbands and wives. Our children. With the delta variant there are move lives that are going to be lost.”
The idea for the COVID March to Remember started in New York City with 16-year-old Hannah Ernst, who had made plans with her grandfather to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge before COVID-19 struck. After her grandfather died in early 2020, Ernst decided to walk the bridge Aug. 7 in his memory, said Christopher Kocher, executive director of COVID Survivors for Change.
He said about 400 people took part in the New York bridge walk and similar events, some with walking and others without, were held in as many as 40 places across the country. He said the goal of the events was for those involved to take a total of 615,000 steps, one for each person in the US who has died from COVID-19.
“More than 2 million steps were taken,” Kocher said. “There was a whole mix of activities.”
During the Highland Park gathering, Drew Murrie, 60, of Vernon Hills, talked about his days in the hospital after he was diagnosed with the virus in March 2020. Days after his diagnosis, Murrie was rushed to the ICU, placed on a ventilator and his wife was told he had a 2% chance of surviving.
“When they told me I was going on the ventilator I was relieved,” he said. “I just couldn’t stand being that sick anymore. It’s just nasty. I’ve never felt so ill. You just want to die. You can’t breathe. You can’t drink. You’re just so sick and it’s relentless. It gets in your lungs and goes to work. I remember hallucinating a lot. I was along for the ride.”
Murrie said there are steps to prevent the spread of the virus that are not being taken.
“All I did was get sick. It’s the people that looked after me in the hospital that saved me that need the recognition. It’s also the survivors who lost family members,” he said. “They are truly the ones that are forgotten. It affects them more than anything. I was out of it. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. My wife lived it every single day.”
Heidi Peters, 39, of Highland Park, said she came to the gathering because she has friends who lost loved ones in the pandemic.
“I’m here to show support today,” she said. “A lot of people didn’t get closure last year. They couldn’t have the typical funerals or memorials that they needed. I think it’s important to find a support group. This accomplished both of those things today.”
Nemacheck said she will never forget her mother’s final moments in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“I loved my mother,” she said softly. “I had on all my personal protection equipment and I couldn’t kiss my mom. I just looked at her.”
She also said the event was a good way to pay tribute to health care workers who have been pushed to the limit by the pandemic.
“The one thing I do want people to know is that there are health care workers that are being deployed right now,” she said. “They’re leaving their families. They’re staying away to keep their families safe. They need our help. They have already been through devastating death, devastating suffering. Their mental health is suffering.”
Nemacheck said she hopes the nationwide event helps people who are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine to take the disease seriously.
“I do not want to see anyone see anyone else lose someone in the manner I lost my mom,” Nemacheck said. “I want people to follow the CDC guidelines. I want them to wear masks. People need to get vaccinated. If they would have seen the way my mother died … I don’t want anyone to experience that horror for themselves or for their loved ones.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.