SEATTLE — A 90-year-old Seattle woman, who made international headlines three weeks ago when she walked 6 miles in the snow to get her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, finished the job today.
“I’m dancing a lot over the place. I’m so excited about it,” Fran Goldman said.
Thankfully, her experience was much smoother the second time around. She even got to drive.
“I had no trouble at all. I made the appointment and, this morning, I drove there. The biggest problem was finding a parking spot,” said Goldman.
It was nothing compared to the extraordinary lengths she went through three weeks ago to get her first dose. That’s when a rare storm dumped a foot of snow in Seattle, but she refused to let it keep her from getting to her appointment after struggling to book one for weeks. So she walked from her home in the Sand Point neighborhood near the NOAA building to Seattle Children’s Hospital. That’s a 6-mile round trip.
For Goldman, the decision to make the snowy hike was a no-brainer after a challenging year.
“I miss being with people and being able to do things with people,” she added.
Now that she’s vaccinated, her “to do” list includes holding her new great-grandson, Silas, for the first time.
“In two weeks, I’m planning to. Poor kid. He won’t be able to breathe,” Goldman added.
Goldman hopes by sharing her story, it will encourage people to get their shots as soon as they can.
“To me, building up a vaccinated public is like building a wall against the virus. And I’m just one brick, and you need a lot of bricks to have a strong wall,” Goldman said.
Goldman said she also already has plans to have dinner and hug her daughter and son-in-law who are also both vaccinated.
She’s also looking forward to getting back into her volunteer work again.