Kathy Anderson has been an Honor Flight volunteer wherever she has lived over the last several years. She began with Honor Flight Austin while living in Texas, assisting alongside her Marine Corps veteran brother with send-offs and Welcome Home celebrations. When she moved north, she started volunteering with Badger Honor Flight in Wisconsin and then joined the Honor Flight Chicago team after her father flew with us in 2019. Our mission is clearly near and dear to her heart.
“Most of my news feed is veteran and military related, and I am still seeing a lot of appreciation for them, which I like. I just really hope that people continue to comply, stay home, and do the things that they are being asked to do so that we can honor all of our veterans as soon as possible. I feel so bad for all those veterans who were all ready to go (on their Day of Honor) and now have to wait.”
Working at a small community hospital in Wisconsin, Kathy said “The whole way that we practice in the ER has changed” since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Patients coming in with COVID symptoms are tested in a separate area, then sent to another separate area for treatment.
When COVID-19 became a “reality” in many people’s minds, panic set in and there was a rush on Kathy’s ER. Patients wanted to come in and get tested even if they didn’t have symptoms, overwhelming the operation. Her hospital developed a hotline where people could get their questions answered, which has greatly helped.
At the time we spoke, her facility was short on PPE, forcing Kathy to wear pediatric masks. She anticipates that it will get better with companies donating supplies and other places changing their manufacturing lines to join the fight. Still, “I don’t want to call it fear, but there is an underlying apprehension every day at work. It is a very scary thing, but I work with a great team of people who are all in this together from the X-ray techs to the lab techs to everyone. It’s a team effort.”
Kathy is hearing the words “Thank You” a lot more but does not like being called a “front-line hero.” (Editor’s note: She is.)
She says: “We’re not the only ones doing our jobs. Everyone staying home like the CDC says to is a hero because you aren’t spreading it. The ‘non-essential’ factory near us that uses N-95 masks brought over boxes and boxes. Grocery store workers, truckers, everyone that is participating in keeping our country moving deserves recognition.”
At Honor Flight Chicago, we believe every veteran who served during a time of war deserves our thanks and appreciation. Kathy is clearly living that creed right now. Thank You to Kathy and everyone in the COVID-19 fight!
“We’re not the only ones doing our jobs. Everyone staying home like the CDC says to is a hero because you aren’t spreading it.”