In some states experienced COVID-19 a shortage of vaccines can be a challenge to get a chance. One 90-year-old added extra burdens to her vaccination trip: miles and about a foot of snow.
Fran Goldman walked from her home in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle to a hospital – after a snowstorm – to get her first shot.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Goldman said it is difficult to make an appointment. “I called to make an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon, and often I was online at night,” Goldman said.
Ruth Goldman / AP
Eventually, Goldman contacted Seattle Children’s Hospital online who was able to book an appointment for her, reports The Seattle Times. “I could not believe my eyes,” Goldman said. “I had to get my glasses to see if I really saw them.”
Her appointment was set for the morning of Sunday 14 February – but another key was thrown into the comparison. Goldman woke up a few inches of snow on Saturday and knew she needed a plan.
The journey to and from the hospital would take three miles from each direction, but Goldman was, despite having a hip replacement last year, about to walk it. On Saturday, she did a test run, dressed in layers and carrying her walking sticks to the Burke-Gilman trail.
She saw there were tracks in the snow, and she was confident that she would be able to walk the whole thing the next day. Sunday morning she did it again. This time she does not stop at the trail, she walks all the way to the hospital with her fleece zipper, down jacket and raincoat.
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 Fox subsidiary KCPQ that she spends about 3 miles every day anyway. However, Seattle was hit with another foot of snow on Sunday and her family was worried. “I thought, ‘Maybe you could take an Uber or a Lift and walk down the mountain.’ “And she was very determined that she would walk there,” her daughter, Louise Goldman, told the station.
For Goldman, the vaccination was not only for her but also for her family. She has two great-grandchildren whom she was unable to see due to 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 her mother has an attitude of, “You don’t let a little adversity get in your way.”
“She’s someone looking for solutions, not problems,” Ruth Goldman said.
Despite the many problems the pandemic presents, Fran Goldman has found many solutions, such as taking Zoom classes to keep her busy. She was still driving, which is why she used to order food online and pick it up in her car.
And as seen on Sunday, if she can not drive, she walks.
Of course, if Goldman gets her second shot in a few weeks, she hopes the trip will be easier, she told KCPQ.
After receiving the shot, Goldman had to sit and wait until 15 to be monitored for any reactions to the vaccine. “And I said, ‘I’ll be happy to sit down after walking here,'” she told CBS News’ Vladimir Duthiers.
Goldman said she did not think of anything special she did. “It was like I could do it, and I did it too,” she told KCPQ.