I still remember the day we met. You asked me to dance, and I said no because I didn’t know how to dance to country music. You smiled, offered to teach me, and then asked for my phone number.

Well, 26 years later, I don’t think you ever gave me that dance lesson—I had to learn on my own! Looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t know how to dance. It turned out to be the best excuse I ever had. This year would have marked 32 years together. I miss you every single day, and I will always treasure the beautiful life and memories we shared. No matter how much time passes, you will forever hold my heart.

Jody was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of twenty-five. MS affects each person differently. In Jody’s case, it primarily impacted the use of his legs. Initially, he used a walker in our apartment because it gave him some stability. Sadly, within two years, he needed a wheelchair to get about especially over long distances. Despite his physical obstacles, Jody was determined that he would walk again. “All I have to do is keep my muscles strong,” he would say.

Several times a day he would trudge up and down the hallways in our building using his walker. It was a chance for him to maintain an exercise regimen for his legs, but it also aided his social interactions. As he prowled about the building, he would run into neighbors and would stop for a chat, or “we shoot the shit” as Jody would say, to catch up on the building’s latest gossip. The frustrating issue was that Jody still needed my, or someone else’s, assistance to go out of the building using his wheelchair. We solved that with the purchase of an electric scooter.

That electric scooter gave Jody new opportunities for adventure and mayhem (which I won’t describe here.) He became a regular at the local playground where there are sets of exercise equipment provided for all age groups. Jody made use of most of them. A favorite was the parallel bars in the children’s area. He could situate the scooter, stand up, and walk back and forth, holding onto the parallel bars which were at just the right height for him. He would then drive over to the adult section and use other equipment like the hip abductor and adductor and the chest press. When he came home, I’d ask him how it went. And, he would always reply with his mantra, “All I have to do is keep my muscles strong.”

But, of all the places Jody traveled on his daily journeys, the most important to him was our church, The Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. On the walls of the shrine, there is a large mosaic depicting scenes from the life and ministry of Mother Cabrini. Jody was immediately attracted to a section of the mural which depicts Mother Cabrini reaching out to a young man in a wheelchair offering comfort. He would sit below that part of the mural and his head would bow in prayer. Jody told me that he always believed that Mother Cabrini would look out for him and help him to be able to walk again. Jody’s faith was very important to him.

Of course, his dream of again walking independently ended with his passing from COVID-19 in April 2020. Since then, though, I have had sensations that Jody has come back to pay me a visit. Every time he appears, he is walking on his own without a wheelchair.

July 7, 2026, will mark the eightieth anniversary of the canonization of Mother Cabrini as a saint of the Catholic Church. I’m sure Jody will be celebrating. Six years later, when I look at the mural, I don’t see Mother Cabrini offering her hand in solace to the young man in the wheelchair. I see her extending her hand to Jody encouraging him to get up and walk. I’m sure it’s true. Jody’s faith and determination make it so.

I received a phone call today from my lawyer about my brother Johnny’s lawsuit against his nursing home. It was dismissed today by the judge because of Governor Cuomo’s immunity clause protecting all nursing homes against lawsuits in the beginning months of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Even though I expected this injustice, it was still a massive gut punch and I felt like I could not breathe.

It was never about the money. The nursing home accepted Johnny after his surgery for short term rehabilitation. There was no warning to us that COVID-19 was all over the facility. They closed the facility the next day. I am quite certain his roommate had Covid from all of his symptoms that Johnny reported. Then, later the nursing home took in hospital patients who were treated for Covid. Many were still active with Covid and many could not be tested since there were limited test kits. Infection control in the facility was abysmal. Johnny told me staff members were running out of masks. I could go on and on.

I understand immunity for the professionals such as doctors, nurses, therapists etc. I will never understand immunity for not warning us about the amount of Covid in the nursing home and for the poor infection control and lack of personal protective equipment. They just took my brother into their Lions Den and my brother was eaten alive. There was no justice and no accountability. Yet I know I carried on the good fight with all my heart and all my soul to fight for Johnny for six years. What will happen the next time?

So many people woke up today without a husband, father and grandfather and the saddest part is it didn’t have to happen this way.

Only 6 years ago, we were still celebrating life and then in March 2020 Covid reared its ugliness and ruined our lives.

Today, I watched so many celebrating–a little jealous but happy for them and I have to have gratitude for the time I did have with you.

I started being very concerned about Covid-19 coming into our country the end of January 2020. So was my husband, who spoke at our town’s Mayor and Council meeting in February 2020, advising that wearing masks would be prudent. Now I am concerned about Ebola. Being a health care provider for over four decades, I have followed what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been monitoring. This center has been dismantled and our current administration has made poor choices for leadership needed to protect our country from infectious diseases abroad. The World Cup is coming soon into the United States. The epidemiologists, virologists, public health professionals and many others have not been given the tools, support and leadership to keep us safe. My brother Johnny was such a responsible and careful person. He must be rolling over in his grave.