Before he took his last breaths, Gary Fowler had scrawled on a piece of paper: "Heart beat irregular ... oxygen level low."
Fowler, 56, went to three different emergency rooms in the weeks leading up to his death, & begged for a coronavirus test. freep.com/story/news/loc…
Fowler, 56, went to three different emergency rooms in the weeks leading up to his death, & begged for a coronavirus test. freep.com/story/news/loc…
Important story here from my former colleague @KristenShamus. Must read.
Fowler’s son said: “Why isn't there enough testing in the areas that are mostly impacted, which are black areas? Why are we being pushed to go home to die around our family and loved ones? That's traumatizing in itself to wake up & your husband next to you is dead.”
This pandemic is only exacerbating the inequity that’s been in America all along. Black folks have been sounding the alarm on this for years. In fact, there are some hospitals in the Detroit area that people will try to avoid at all costs out of fear of poor treatment.
I’ve found this to be true in my reporting & through my lived experience as a black woman in America. A family member recently started training to became a doula to advocate & prevent other black women from experiencing what she did at a local hospital during her own pregnancy.
