SEATTLE — You’ve heard this story before, either from an older relative or a comedian: “When I was your age, we had to walk to school 10 miles. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.”
Here is the 21st-century version: A 90-year-old Seattle woman walked six miles -- round trip -- to get her first COVID-19 vaccine.
A rare winter storm that dropped a foot of snow in Seattle did not discourage Fran Goldman, although she did not say whether she had to walk uphill. However, the Seattle area does have its share of hilly terrain, so it’s possible.
Goldman’s diligence finally paid off.
“I have been calling to get an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon and often I’ve been online at night,” Goldman told the Seattle Times on Sunday.
Fran Goldman, age 90, dressed in fleece pants and a short-sleeve shirt so that the nurse could get to her arm. Over that, she layered a fleece zip-up, then a down coat, then a rain jacket. https://t.co/czGAQo64pK
— The Progress-Index (@ProgressIndex) February 16, 2021
Goldman called the Washington state Department of Health and asked for help, according to The Associated Press.
“Nada. Nothing,” Goldman told the Times. “Every day.”
Finally, Goldman got an appointment scheduled for Sunday morning, but Friday and Saturday a strong winter storm pelted the Pacific Northwest, the AP reported. Driving was out of the question, so Goldman did a trial run Saturday, according to The Hill. She walked two-thirds of the way to the hospital and back, the website reported.
The next day was no problem.
On Sunday morning, Goldman said she wore fleece pants and a short-sleeved shirt so that the nurse could get to her arm easily. She also wore a fleece zip-up, with a down coat on top and topped off by a rain jacket, the AP reported.
She put on snow boots, took out her walking sticks and navigated the snowy streets.
“It was not easy going, it was challenging,” Goldman said.
But Goldman made it to her appointment and was only five minutes late, the AP reported.
Goldman was not to be denied. Her daughter, who lives in Buffalo, New York, was not surprised.
“We’re outside people,” Ruth Goldman told the Times. “We love being outside. I was out yesterday at Lake Ontario with a wind chill of 6 degrees.”
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Cox Media Group
