Remembering the 1 million Americans lost to COVID

One million dead from COVID-19. The U.S. is fast approaching that grim milestone.

Millions of Americans are figuring out what life looks like without someone they love — a mother, father, sister, brother, friend.

How can we collectively mark this milestone?

“As a nation, to pause, as a nation, to turn toward some collective location, should it be a physical memorial, is a moment of profound unity and recommitment,” history professor Micki McElya says.

Today, On Point: Remembering the one million lost to COVID-19.

Guests

Micki McElya, professor of history at the University of Connecticut. Author of The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery.

Marisa Renee Lee, writer, speaker and entrepreneur. Author of Grief is Love: Living with Loss. (@MarisaReneeLee)

Also Featured

Barry Joseph, who lost his father to COVID.

Medinah Hagan-Morgan, who lost her husband to COVID.

Interview Highlights: Remembering The Americans Lost To COVID

Below, Medinah Hagan-Morgan reflects on the life of her husband Leslie Hagan-Morgan.

MEDINAH HAGAN-MORGAN: Leslie was extremely funny. He was really, really silly. So he was brilliant. His mind was brilliant, the way he thought about things. It was just beautiful. And his heart was unlike anybody’s heart I’ve ever seen. He was so selfless. He only wanted to take care of his family and make the world a better place. Honestly, those were his goals.

MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: Medinah’s husband and her, Leslie Hagan-Morgan, lived in Los Angeles. He died from COVID on January 18th, 2021. Leslie was just 38 years old.

HAGAN-MORGAN: He was a coach and mentor. He started a nonprofit called City of Youth. He really wanted to make South L.A., which is the area he grew up in, he wanted to make it a better place.

So he was affected by how gang ridden it was. And how it was so tough to grow up there, and kind of stay focused and be focused without support. So he really wanted to be the support for the community. He wanted to do that through education and through providing a framework for people to be successful.

CHAKRABARTI: COVID had changed everyone’s lives since March of 2020. Over the holidays, though, Leslie, Medinah and their kids wanted to connect with family, so they took a trip to Atlanta.

HAGAN-MORGAN: My mother-in-law is a nurse. And she was one of the frontline workers working in the COVID ward, and she happened to bring it to the home, to her home where we were staying. And she got sick first, and then my kids got it, then I got it. Then my husband got it. Leslie got it. Unfortunately, we all got it. And we all were recovering home and he seemed to be getting better.

But on the 11th or 12th day, I was monitoring his oxygen and it just started dropping right before our eyes. On that day that I called 911, they took him to the hospital and he died maybe like an hour later. It was so fast. It was so drastic, and it was so unpredictable.

You know, I say this a lot. You take your vows and you say, till death do you part. But you never consider that actually happening. And my husband was 38 years young. And we had plans. I mean, you know, like you go through life, you make plans. And honestly, when someone so close to you dies, it’s like I’ve had to reevaluate everything, reevaluate life without him. And what that looks like, dealing with the grief of myself and my children.

He was truly an angel on earth. And we’re doing everything to keep that memory alive. For not just for my kids and my family, but for everyone. Because he touched so many lives when he was alive and he was such a dear friend to so many people. You know, I’m thanking God. Because I know God is with me through every step of this. And that’s really been helping me and my family just get through it and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m in many grief groups and that’s also been an amazing support. And those are the little things that I’ve looked forward to, those little pockets of hope in the midst of all this that have been extremely incredible in us moving forward.

CHAKRABARTI: Medinah Hagan-Morgan, remembering her husband, Leslie, who was just 38 years old when he died in January 2021. After his death, Medinah took over and continues to reach out to Los Angeles young people through her husband’s nonprofit City of Youth.

Related Reading

The Atlantic: “Grief, Everywhere” — “On February 28, 2008, my mother collapsed in my arms and had a seizure in my childhood home. As I laid her body on the floor, I knew it was over. She was officially pronounced dead a few hours later. My mom had Stage 4 breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. On that day in February, her diseases won, and I found myself lost.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.