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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
ATOKA, Okla. — To Tod Dillard, COVID-19 was no big deal.
Until it nearly killed him.
After getting infected, the Air Force veteran and longtime law enforcement officer spent 115 days in the hospital. At one point, his condition became so dire that a nurse stuck a phone to his ear so his adult children, Bryce and BreAnne, could tell their unconscious father goodbye.
As Tod’s prognosis improved, he had to rebuild his muscles and stamina just to attempt basic movements. Only then could he relearn how to walk, shower and feed himself.
But I’m jumping way ahead. Let’s start at the beginning and note one crucial detail up front: Tod is my brother-in-law.
“I wasn’t really concerned about it,” Tod said of the coronavirus, telling his personal story — his miraculous story, as our family sees it — for the first time at the pandemic’s five-year anniversary.
The U.S. government declared the “very contagious” virus — as President Donald Trump called it — a national emergency on March 13, 2020.
COVID-19 brought a widespread lockdown that closed schools, stores and sanctuaries. Millions around the world died as fierce debates erupted over masks, vaccines and the disease’s origins.
A year into the pandemic, my wife, Tamie, who battles autoimmune diseases, and I joyfully welcomed the arrival of vaccines developed by companies such as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
“The vaccines offer hope for ending the pandemic,” I wrote in March 2021. “They offer hope for a brighter tomorrow. They offer hope, in a very real sense, for my own family and friends.”
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Photo by Tamie Ross
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 