In some states experiencing COVID-19 shortage of vaccines, getting an injection can be challenging. A 90-year-old woman had an extra load added to her vaccination journey: miles and about a foot of snow.
Fran Goldman walked from his home in Seattle’s Sand Point neighborhood to a hospital – after a snowstorm – to get his first chance.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Goldman said getting an appointment was difficult. “I’ve been calling to make an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon and I’m often online at night,” said Goldman.
Ruth Goldman / AP
Finally, Goldman contacted the Seattle Children’s Hospital online, which managed to make an appointment for her, reports The Seattle Times. “I couldn’t believe what I saw,” said Goldman. “I had to get my glasses on to see if I was really seeing.”
His appointment was scheduled for Sunday morning, February 14 – but another key was thrown into the equation. Goldman woke up with several inches of snow on Saturday and knew that she needed a plan.
The trip to and from the hospital would be three miles each way, but – despite having received a hip replacement last year – Goldman was ready to walk. On Saturday, she auditioned, dressed in layers and carrying her canes to the Burke-Gilman trail.
She saw that there were trails in the snow there, so she was confident that she could walk to the end the next day. Then, on Sunday morning, she did it again. This time, she didn’t stop on the trail, she walked all the way to the hospital in her zippered wool coat, coat 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 affiliate KCPQ that she spends about 3 miles walking every day anyway. However, Seattle was hit by another foot of snow on Sunday and his family was concerned. “I thought, ‘Maybe you can take an Uber or a Lyft and just go down the hill.’ And she was very determined to walk there, “said her daughter, Louise Goldman, to the station.
For Goldman, getting the vaccine was not just for her, but for her family. She has two great-grandchildren that she was unable to see because of the pandemic.
“I can’t wait to be able 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 that her mother has an attitude of, “Don’t let a little bit of adversity get in the way.”
“She is someone who seeks solutions, not problems,” said Ruth Goldman.
Despite the many problems presented by the pandemic, Fran Goldman found many solutions, such as taking Zoom classes to keep her busy. She still drives, so she resorted to ordering food online and picking it up in the car.
And as it turned out on Sunday, when she can’t drive, she walks.
Of course, when Goldman has her second chance in a few weeks, she hopes the journey will be easier, she told KCPQ.
After receiving the injection, Goldman had to sit and wait 15 to be monitored for any reactions to the vaccine. “And I said, ‘I would be delighted to sit down after walking here,'” she told Vladimir Duthiers of CBS News.
Goldman said he didn’t think what he did was special. “It was the way I could do it and then I did it,” she told KCPQ.