In some facing states COVID-19 lack of vaccine, getting a shot can be a challenge. An 90-year-old child was added to her vaccination trip: miles and about a foot of snow.
Fran Goldman went from her home in Seattle’s Sand Point neighborhood to a hospital – after a snowstorm – to get the first shot.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Goldman said it was difficult to just have a date. “I called to get an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon, and I was often online at night,” Goldman said.
Ruth Goldman / AP
Finally, Goldman contacted the Seattle Children’s Hospital online, which managed to book him a meeting, reports The Seattle Times. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Goldman said. “I had to take my glasses to see if I really saw him.”
Her appointment was set for Sunday morning, February 14 – but another key was thrown into the equation. Goldman woke up a few inches of snow on Saturday and knew he needed a plan.
The trip to and from the hospital would be three miles each way, but – despite receiving a hip replacement last year – Goldman was prepared to go. On Saturday, he did a test, dressed in layers and carrying his sticks on the Burke-Gilman route.
She saw that there was snow on the snow there, so she was confident she could walk everything the next day. So, on Sunday morning, he did it again. This time, he did not stop at the runway, he went all the way to the hospital, with a wool zipper, jacket and rain jacket.
Underneath all the layers, Goldman wore a short-sleeved shirt, so it would be easy for a nurse to administer the vaccine, she told The Seattle Times.
Goldman told local affiliate Fox KCPQ that it spends about 3 miles walking each day anyway. However, Seattle was hit with another snowstorm on Sunday and her family was worried. “I thought, ‘Maybe you can take an Uber or a Lyft and go up the hill.’ “And she was very determined to go there,” her daughter, Louise Goldman, told the post.
For Goldman, the administration of this vaccine was not just for her, but for her family. He has two great-grandchildren he could not see because of the pandemic.
“I can’t wait to hold them,” she told The Seattle Times. “I just want to feel more comfortable.”
Her other daughter, Ruth Goldman, who lives in Buffalo, New York, told The Seattle Times that her mother has a “Don’t let a little adversity stop you” attitude.
“He’s looking for solutions, not problems,” said Ruth Goldman.
Despite the many problems with the pandemic, Fran Goldman has found many solutions, such as taking Zoom classes to keep her busy. She’s still driving, so she turned to ordering food online and picking it up in her car.
And as you can see on Sunday, when he can’t drive, he walks.
Of course, when Goldman receives the second blow in a few weeks, he hopes the journey will be easier, she told KCPQ.
After receiving the shot, Goldman had to sit and wait for 15 to be monitored for any reaction to the vaccine. “And I said, ‘I’d love to sit down after I go here,'” she told CBS News’s Vladimir Duthiers.
Goldman said he did not think what he did was special. “That’s how I was able to do it and that’s how I did it,” she told KCPQ.