(WSVN) - We have seen the toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken on healthcare workers, but if a patient dies, other people take over, and they are suffering, too. 7’s Karen Hensel has tonight’s special report: The Pain Behind the Pandemic.
Gustavo Valdes, son of Gustavo Lazaro Valdes: “He was a very happy, caring man — helped everybody that he could.”
Gustavo Lazaro Valdes was born in Cuba in 1941. He died in December.
Like thousands of South Floridians, the cause was COVID.
Gustavo Valdes: “He had just turned 79, so his birthday was on the 17th, and he passed on the 18th, very difficult. He wanted to be cremated. Those were his wishes.”
His son Gustavo, who shares his name, signed a contract with Miami funeral home Caballero Rivero Little Havana.
Gustavo Valdes: “They did say that they were backed up, that they are looking at like one to two weeks out to have my dad cremated.”
But, one to two weeks turned into three and four.
Gustavo was worried because his father’s body was not being embalmed and preserved, since he wanted to be cremated.
Gustavo Valdes: “I voiced to them my concerns about the body decomposing, and they told me that was not going to be the case, that he was refrigerated. Finally, at four weeks, they finally cremated him.”
But, Gustavo first had to identify his father after waiting nearly a month.
Gustavo Valdes: “It entailed going into basically like a viewing room, a funeral viewing room, and they had my dad there. I don’t want to talk about that.”
Citing family privacy, the funeral home would not discuss specifics but told 7News, “Given the much higher than average death rate in our area and throughout the country, it is currently taking 30-45 days for cremations. We are doing everything possible to serve all families with dignity and respect in extremely difficult circumstances.”
Karen Hensel: “What has it been like for the last responders?”
Randy Anderson, National Funeral Directors Association President-elect: “Our caseload has more than doubled since last March when all of this started.”
Randy Anderson is with the National Funeral Directors Association.
Randy Anderson: “Nobody in our lifetime has ever experienced this volume of deaths at one time all across the country.”
A staggering amount of death. The grim milestones passed recently: more than a half a million COVID deaths in the U.S. and more than 30,000 of those are our fellow Floridians.
Randy Anderson: “I’ve noted in our staff that many of them have had some compassion fatigue. I’ve heard from the families that I’ve served that has been the most difficult is that they say their loved ones died in facilities, a hospital, a nursing home, and they say, ‘We didn’t get to be with them,’ because they were restricted from visiting.”
It was that way for Gustavo.
Gustavo Valdes: “I was only able to see him once a day for 15 minutes through glass.”
The pandemic’s pain felt deeply by this grieving son.
Gustavo Valdes: “I’ve been terrible. I lost my father. I lost my best friend.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.