Tl’azt’en Man Urges Indigenous People To Get Vaccinated After Loss of Family Member – FNHA
Oct 20, 2021
When Tyrone Joseph first visited his sister at Vancouver General Hospital, where she was being treated for COVID-19, he wasn’t prepared for the sight.
Anna Joseph, 57, was behind glass in the intensive care unit (ICU), lying unconscious and hooked up to a ventilator. Tyrone could only speak through an intercom, never sure if she heard his words.
“You’re trying to express to your loved one—through a wall—that you’re here for them,” says Tyrone, who agreed to share his deeply personal story with the FNHA in the hopes of encouraging Indigenous people to get vaccinated.
What surprised him was the sight of many other people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds who were also in the ICU being treated for COVID-19. Tyrone met a woman from the Interior whose husband, in his mid-30s, was in a similar condition to his sister. He did not survive.
