Reflecting on COVID-19

College community finds light during pandemic darkness

By Debby Baker

The statistics are staggering. As of June 28, 2021, 181 million COVID-19 cases were reported worldwide–with 1.11 million in the United States–and 3.93 million deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The virus spread around the world, changing lives forever. Its wake left behind loss and grief, but also stories of hope and transformation.

We asked the LaGrange College community to share how COVID-19 changed their lives and their perceptions of the world.

Here are their stories.

GARRETT WALLACE ’18 AND KYLIE TAUNTON WALLACE ’18

Student pastor and nurse

I’ve had very ill and dying patients literally look me in the eye and say, “Nothing matters but family.” After they’ve been to hell and back, that’s what they have to say.

Life was good for Garrett and Kylie Taunton Wallace. They earned their degrees from LC in 2018 and married two years later.

At the beginning of 2020, Garrett was enrolled at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and working as a student pastor. Kylie was a registered nurse in the ICU at Wellstar West Georgia.

They were just getting settled into their careers when COVID-19 shut down the world.

Suddenly, his congregation vanished during quarantines, disappearing behind doors closed by the pandemic. Kylie was faced with a tsunami of fear and despair as hospitals filled with the sick and dying.

“As a student pastor, I’m primarily charged with leading and planning worship, and now we can’t even gather,” Garrett says. “I’m watching older colleagues with better resources do things online that I can’t begin to do. It’s easy to start to feel like a failure.”

For the first time in her life, Kylie became acquainted with a constant uneasiness.

“There were many times I’d walk into the hospital and feel like a physical weight was sitting on my chest,” she says. “Other nurses were experiencing the same thing, and finally I realized, ‘Oh, this is anxiety.’”

By leaning on their faith and each other, they have remained strong and are grateful for the lessons they have learned.

“You have to let go of your ideas of perfection,” Garrett says. “You have to do the best with what you have and do your best to take care of yourself in the process so you can help other people.”

Kylie says she’s learned what is really important.

“My biggest takeaway of all is just to cherish people. Cherish your time, your life and your relationships.”

ANTOINE PRATHER ’22

Student

We have to respect each other and respect humanity.

Antoine Prather ’22 said he heard about people getting sick and dying from COVID-19, but he never knew any of them – until COVID hit home.

His father, Bart Pickney, taught math at Griffin High School where he also coached football, basketball and track. Healthy and fit, he wasn’t particularly worried when he started feeling sick in December.

“Then he started feeling worse and stayed home for a week,” says Antoine, a Digital Creative Media & Film major. “He was having a hard time breathing and really didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

A telemedicine session with a doctor persuaded Pickney that he needed to go to the ER.

“They gave him a breathing treatment and sent him home,” Antoine says. “But it didn’t work, and he got worse.”

Upon returning to the ER, Pickney was admitted to the hospital with COVID.

He never returned home.

"He was there close to two months before he passed,” Antoine says. “I wasn’t able to talk to him after he was admitted, although I was given the opportunity to visit him virtually. I just didn’t want to see him that way.”

Antoine holds a blanket featuring photos of his late father.

Antoine says the support he received from his professors was moving.

“I told them what was going on,” he says. “They were very patient with me and gave me extra time for assignments and things. They all were very kind.”

He has a message for those who question the severity of COVID.

“I would like to tell people that COVID definitely is real,” he says. “I don’t like wearing masks just as much as anyone else, but we have to do what is right.”

DR. GRETTA MILAN

Chair of the Education Department

As a mom, my heart was broken. I lost a whole year of first experiences that can never be regained or relived.

“This entire Covid crisis has been heartbreaking from a family perspective – as a daughter, as a wife and as a mom. It has been a year filled with anxiety and worry and longing.

“My husband works in the medical field. We spent weeks on edge, knowing that he was exposed on a daily basis and wondering when we would be next on the list of positive cases - not knowing if tomorrow would bring it into our house, to our family. In the midst of that, my Dad's health continued to decline and I was fearful that I wouldn't see him again. I couldn't risk exposing him. We just didn't know. Fortunately, and I say that laughingly and with some sense of sincerity, Randy had foot surgery and was away from work for long enough that we felt like we were safe to go see Daddy again. Those next weeks were priceless reminders of the frailty and value of human life. Daddy passed away only a few weeks later.

“As a mom, my heart was broken. I couldn't see my children or hug my grandkids. My son, Zack, because he lives out of state, could not even come to Daddy's service. I didn't see him and his family for over a year. I lost a whole year of first experiences that can never be regained or relived.

“This mama's arms felt so empty and longed to wrap those I love in a tight hug – knowing that they were facing their own fears and anxieties and COVID-induced battles. Thank goodness for technology, but it's nothing like sitting next to someone and sharing those moments that we long for.”

KENDAL WALLACE

Head Men’s Basketball Coach

Our players are much better people and much more humble people than they were before this season began.

“Being the only (Men’s Basketball) coach on staff, I was on pins and needles all season. If I had contracted COVID, our season would have been disastrous. I would have been quarantined for 14 days, and any of the players who had been in contact with me would have been quarantined as well. This limited my ability to go recruit, to interact closely with the team, and to interact closely with my family.

“I began to get tested weekly the last week of August 2020. After the season was over, I counted that I had been tested 39 times for COVID. All negative, thank goodness!

“When I talked to the team after the season was over, I explained to them how much more mentally stronger and resilient they had become as young men by overcoming all these obstacles in order to do something that they love doing – playing basketball. Our players are much better people and much more humble people than they were before this season began. Great life lessons.”

DAVID KELTON

Head Baseball Coach

We had eight seniors on the team, and four decided to return for 2021.

“As for everyone in the athletic department, the spring 2020 season being shut down was a huge disappointment for me, my coaches and players. After a slow start, we had won 11 of what would be our last 12 games of the season.

“We had eight seniors on the team, and four decided to return for 2021 after the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility. E.J. Churchich, Spencer Douches, Trey Pearce, and J.R. Robinson have been the leaders for us this season.

“If there was a positive to come out of the pandemic shutting us down, it was the return of this group to show our younger players what I and the coaching staff expect in our program.”

AMANDA PLUMLEE

Professor of Modern Languages

… spending time in nature, especially the beautiful gardens of Hills and Dales, and practicing yoga weekly, has not only kept me calm but reminded me of the beauty that still surrounds us.

“While I'm grateful for the technology and the ability to meet virtually during the pandemic, I was so happy to return to the classroom in the fall.

“Despite the challenges of teaching and learning a foreign language while wearing a mask, returning to the classroom confirmed something I've always known – I like teaching in a small liberal arts college because of the opportunity to get to know and interact with my students. Nothing can replace the energy of a live classroom. It is good to be with my students again.

“I've also found comfort and renewal during the pandemic through my faith and nature and yoga. The beauty and poetry of the Psalms has been my touchstone. Moreover, spending time in nature, especially the beautiful gardens of Hills and Dales, and practicing yoga weekly, has not only kept me calm but reminded me of the beauty that still surrounds us.”

TARA VAUGHN ’06

Director, Quality and Safety, Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center, LaGrange

With every injection, there was more hope...

“I have been a nurse for nearly 15 years, but I have been in leadership roles for several years. I never could have imagined in my wildest nightmares the challenges and tragedies 2020 held for so many.

“During the pandemic, those of us who could safely return to the bedside or in a nursing support role were redeployed to several units throughout the hospital to meet the growing needs. Only then did I get a firsthand look into the delivery of care in the middle of a pandemic – not only from the nurse’s perspective, but also from the patient’s.

“Nurses were scared, isolated, emotionally and physically exhausted. Many hours were spent in N-95 respirators, gowns, goggles and gloves, yet they remained focused on delivering individualized, high-quality care to our patients.

“I worked on our designated COVID unit to support and assist the nurses, meaning I had more time with patients.

“The impact of visitor restrictions quickly became apparent. Despite technologies like FaceTime, Skype or Zoom for patients to interact with their families, it was just not the same. I sat and talked with patients, heard stories about their grandchildren, their travels, their spouses and countless other heartwarming stories that I will forever cherish. “Some of my patients were discharged home, some to rehabilitation facilities and unfortunately many succumbed to the illness. It was just the hard reality nurses and all team members experienced daily.

“I became a vaccinator for the hospital. I have given more intramuscular injections during my time in the vaccination clinic than I have in my entire nursing career. With every injection, there was more hope – more hope of our teams getting some relief, more hope of visitors returning to our hospital, more hope of family gatherings and social events, more hope of things returning to “normal.”

“It is easy to think of all the negative impacts that COVID-19 has had but we would be amiss to not acknowledge some of the positive ones. Personally, I have spent more time at home with my husband and two daughters than in the past. We have had more family meals at home, countless games of family Uno and more neighborhood walks as a family. Personally, I developed a love for puzzles and quiet time.

“Ultimately the pandemic has served to remind me of just how lucky I am.”

SPENCER DOUCHES

Baseball player, fifth-year senior

These are the reasons why coming back for a fifth year was an easy decision.

“Early morning workouts.

“Practices in the September heat and the February freeze.

“Long bus rides.

“The thrill of victory on a Friday night under the lights.

“The opportunity to play again for my family and make lifelong memories with my teammates.

“These are all experiences that I have had this past year, and were the reasons why coming back for a fifth year was an easy decision.

“I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I look forward to helping finish what we started working for way back in September.”