'Some won't believe until a loved one gets it': Minnesota man warns of COVID-19 dangers as wife recovers
Scott and Terry Lambert
(FOX 9) - As COVID-19 cases in Minnesota continue to spike, we're hearing more stories about the people behind the numbers.
Among the thousands testing positive for the virus is Scott Lambert and his wife Terry. The couple have been inseparable during their 40 years of marriage -- until this week when Scott had to leave Terry in the emergency room.
"All of the sudden, you’re dropping someone off and it’s not like you’re at the airport and say, 'I’ll see you in a few days,' you know, you can’t enter," he explained.
Terry had tested positive for COVID-19. Her symptoms started off mild and then got worse.
"She was passing out; she was white as a ghost," Scott recalled.
Now, she’s been at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for nearly a week, only able to call and talk long enough to fill Scott in on her treatments.
"Visiting or talking on the phone is really tough because she’s gasping for air and her throat's so sore from it," said Scott.
Terry is just one of more than 1,400 people in the hospital right now, on the day the state has seen record-setting case numbers and more than 8,700 new COVID-19 cases.
"You have so many people that aren’t evidently going to believe it until someone in their own household has it and you have to worry about them dying," said Scott.
Scott believes Terry may be released in the next day or so, but her care will continue at home because hospitals are filling up fast.
"We’d have to get it all set up, there has to be oxygen because they have to make room for more people," he said.
Scott wants to make sure fellow Minnesotans stick to the plan in the coming months to stop the spread.
"Thanksgiving and Christmas will stink this year without being around people, but I’d rather see some of these people next year than not at all," said Scott.