We first met Lyndsay Hollern and her mom, Brenda Harrison, back in 2021.
They were spreading the message of taking COVID-19 seriously.
“Follow what your doctor says,”
We met up with the mother-daughter duo once again the following year in 2022.
They encouraged community members to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“She’s not the old mom, I can tell you that. But that’s okay, because she’s still here,”
We caught up with them again for another “family update” in 2023.
This time, it’s to inspire others through their story of hope.
“Just don’t give up hope. Don’t give up the hope in your heart,”
Their story begins back in December of 2020 — about three years ago to the date — during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brenda and her sister, Denise Monko, went to the hospital with COVID-19 just two days apart from each other.
Denise did not survive her battle with the virus, sadly passing away.
“I have her picture, and I have her ashes in a beautiful urn in my home, and her cross hanging in my car,”
Brenda was hospitalized for three long months and put into a medically induced coma, among many other medical procedures.
She luckily beat the odds and survived, living on to tell her story after knocking on death’s door.
“I always feel like there was a reason why I was spared, because I was so sick,”
One reason, she says, is to help others grieving the loss of their loved ones from COVID-19.
She shares what she remembers from being in the coma, which she says was not painful or scary.
“My mission is to just help people, help others, and do whatever I can for them.”