By CAYSON FRERICHS, NEWS3 Reporter
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
That day many lives were changed.
Schools were closed and non-essential businesses were forced to shut down. Cities normally busy on a weekend night, fell silent.
Families were also separated. Individuals who were residents in nursing homes and senior care facilities were labeled as “at risk” to the virus and were forced into quarantine at these places.
Outside family members and personnel were no longer allowed to visit inside.
The only contact with those family members was either through a glass window or through facetime or a phone call.
Now more than a year later, there is hope and optimism things are getting better and will return to normal.
Businesses have reopened and are letting more customers inside. Children are going back to school and learning in person.
Vaccines to combat the virus are being rolled out across the country. These vaccines are making a difference for many, including the Hall family.
After not being able to see their grandmother in-person for more than a year, Ryan and Zach Hall made a surprise visit to her healthcare center and finally got to see her.
“I definitely felt relief,” Ryan Hall said. “It was good to see her in person after a year.”
Ryan Hall said it felt like pre-COVID-19 times. His brother Zach echoed a similar statement.
“Compared to seeing her through a window, it felt like old times,” Zach Hall said.
And even though these are tough times, Robin Hall and her sons said they’ve learned more about their family this past year than they ever have.
“Relationships, that is what is going to count,” Robin Hall said. “At the very end, relationships are the important thing.”
“You know every visit we take with Gramps, we don’t take it for granted,” Ryan Hall said. “I want to remember each visit as it is because we don’t know when it could be our last.”
A virus that has forced many people apart is now slowly bringing families back together.
