11 hours Ago By Esme Murphy
Five years ago this week, our world shut down as COVID-19 swept the country. It was a time of loss and change that hit all of us — and all of us have memories of how the virus upended our lives. "It was a really hard time," Tom Gilliam, a retired health care administrator, said.
"The uncertainty, the lack of equipment that we had, the lack of any understanding of what was coming next." Marsh Edelstein is a band and event manager. "It was so paralyzing for all the bands.
It was cancellations coming in for not just the bands, but for he brides and grooms and the special people who were having parties," Edelstein said. Nurse Emily Allen shared her life on the front lines with WCCO back in 2020 and 2021. "I think the most people that I had passed away on a shift was six people during COVID in one shift," Allen said.
"And I've actually been able to keep in contact with a couple of the people that I helped save, which has been absolutely amazing." Wearing a space suit trying to care and comfort patients, unable to draw comfort from the most basic of things. "I would not let the kids hug or touch me when I got home from work.
I had different shoes," Allen said. Then there are those who see the positive in the pandemic. "Since COVID, everything has changed.
You can see doctors through video visits, you can see counselors through video visits, everyone works from home," David Selnick said. Some see good in the isolation. "There was something nice about it for myself as well because we were so go go-go-go, and it kind of forced us to slow down a little bit," Anyssa Grunnes said.
But in the end, it is the losses that remain. "I think of again, all of the people that we lost, and that's when it becomes very real again," Allen said. "This virus did not pick or choose.
It went after everybody." Esme Murphy, a reporter and Sunday morning anchor for WCCO-TV, has been a member of the WCCO-TV staff since December 1990. She is also a weekend talk show host on WCCO Radio.
Born and raised in New York City, Esme ventured into reporting after graduating from Harvard University..
